Countdown to the Jamaalidays
by Indefinova
Summary: It's December, and the Jammers are getting excited. Will 2017 hold the best Jamaalidays ever? Or will it be less amazing? Each day, new adventure awaits.
1. The Jamaalidays are Beginning (Dec 1st)

**A/N:** It's December! Finally! Aaahh I love this month! Happy birthday to one of my friends (her Animal Jam username is Mslayr), you're awesome! Also, I swear, if there's not snow by Dec. 3rd I'm going to die.

The characters used in this story are mainly going to be the same characters used in my other story _Recalculation_ plus some new characters. Again, WildWorks owns Animal Jam and no characters are real. I'll try to post in time but I got at least four projects I have to work on for school and an orchestra concert coming up.

And about Night of Destruction (if you read it) it's discontinued for now. Until I get this and other work out of the way, I may or may not return to writing that.

Have fun reading and don't forget to drop a review!

* * *

Medieval Cleverivy stopped and glanced around. He scowled and sighed.

Had Snickety run off _again?_

"Snickety Cleverivy, you get back here _now,_ " shouted Medieval. "I know you're busy eating your Night of the Phantoms candy somewhere, but now isn't the time for that. Have all the candy you want when we get back to our den. Just not right now."

Snickety poked his head out from behind a snowy bench, his snout covered in chocolate. "Just one more piece, Dad? _Please?_ " he pleaded.

Medieval sighed. "Well, alright, just one more. But that'll be it for the day, you hear me?"

"I promise I won't eat any more after this one, Dad!" Snickety said as he shoved another chocolate into his mouth as happy as a three-year-old.

Medieval nudged his son. "Let's get over to Jamaa Furniture now, okay? We'll have to recycle some unneeded Feast of Thanks decorations and also get some new winter ones for the Jamaalidays. Don't want to keep your mother and your sisters waiting, would you?"

"Nope," Snickety replied, beaming. Then he paused. "What kind of decorations are we gonna get? I hope they've got candy canes."

"Snow we don't have to worry about - it's all falling from the sky for us," Medieval said, smiling as he glanced up at the snow falling from the sky. "We could get some new ornaments. Maybe a frozen wreath, or - "

 _CRASH!_

"Dad, what was that?" Snickety asked, his eyes wide with fear.

Medieval shook his head. "I don't know. We'd better go check it out."

The two bounded over to the location of the crash sound. As Medieval dragged his son into Jam Mart Furniture, snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, he heard several startled voices and a few shouts. That sure was a loud crash - he sure hoped nothing extremely bad had occurred.

" _Zi-_ os! Are you okay, Awesome?" someone said.

Medieval stopped dead and gasped. A tall display of vases had fallen over on top of a Jammer he didn't recognize, and several people were trying to get him out from under the mess.

"What happened?" Medieval asked as he clawed at the broken vases and shelf.

"It was my fault," Explorer Daringartist said as he picked up a huge piece of glass in his beak and tossed it to the side. "I wasn't being careful and accidentally knocked the display over."

The Jammer stuck under the mess grunted and poked his head out. "It wasn't your fault," he said. "It...it was me who was not being careful. I should have...uh… _gotten away_ in time and not just stand there." He laughed slightly. "I'm fine, Explorer. No worries."

Before Medieval or Explorer could say anything, another Jammer resembling the one trapped under the fallen shelf breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you sure you're alright, Awesome? None of the glass or broken vases hurt you…?"

"No, Snowflake. I'm perfectly fine."

Medieval moved to one side of the shattered shelf and wedged a nearby brick under it, causing the shelf to elevate slightly. He gestured for Snickety to do the same. Snickety nodded, shoving bricks under the side of the shelf.

After a few minutes, the Jammer (who was supposedly named Awesome) inched out from under the mess. He shook his fur out, and only then did Medieval realize that Awesome was likely of a new species they didn't see too much around this area of Jamaa. He seemed like a cross between a wolf and a fox.

"Well, I sure wasn't expecting that to happen," Medieval said. "Glad nobody's hurt, though."

"Thanks, Explorer," Awesome said, shaking out his fur again. He then turned to Medieval. "And thank you, sir…"

"You can just call me Medieval," responded Medieval, smiling. "This is my son, Snickety."

Snickety poked his head out from behind his father's tail. "Hi," he squeaked. Then he ducked behind Medieval again.

Awesome smiled. "Let me guess...you're all wondering what species Snowflake and I are," he said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I might as well tell you now. We uh...would not want to be mistaken for phantoms now, would we?"

That caused more laughing around the room.

"The phantoms are long gone, but if they ever decide to return…" Medieval thought for a moment. "Ah, I'm just kidding! You two are clearly anything _but_ phantoms!"

The level of laughter only rose.

"You, Medieval," Explorer said between laughs, "are one of the most ridiculously funny and horribly stubborn people I've ever met. You're clearly _not_ a phantom from what I know!"

"Sure, I'm not!" Medieval shot back. Then he said only loud enough for everyone to hear, "or am I?"

Everyone laughed.

"Awesome and I are coyotes!" a light teal Jammer nearby (supposedly Snowflake) said.

* * *

Muddy Spiritmeadow didn't know what was happening.

He did, however, know that he shouldn't be where he was. If Dad found him or found out that he had been over here, then he would be absolute dead meat. A dead arctic wolf pretending to be roadkill or dead turkey, maybe even dressed up in an old costume from Night of the Phantoms. _Yuck._

All around, he found nothing but trees and hills that were all painted over with darkness, silence, and ice.

Muddy pulled out his map and peered at the tiny spot as to where he might be. The Basement of Secrets _must_ be here somewhere, he thought. Ember said so.

Then again, his sister always told him about lies and fairy tales, which would get him hooked, and once he was hooked to finding them or proving them true…

"Well, _ziosdammit!_ " Muddy grumped, throwing his backpack, map, and compass down. "I shouldn't have gone out here. Now I'll probably never make it out alive! It took me a few days to cross over the rest of Township and Appondale, and now I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere. If only Ember hadn't been the annoying sister she is!"

Adorable and Incredible Spiritmeadow, his parents, both despised this place, saying that it was filled with nothing but darkness and horror. Anyone who dares go there would have their fate sealed.

Now Muddy wished he'd listened to his parents' warnings.

He stormed a few feet ahead until suddenly, the ground underneath his feet collapsed.

Muddy screamed as he was falling, falling, falling...falling into the darkness. His paws slid against the side of dirt and then old, rotten wood. There was a flash of candlelight until he hit something hard, there was a loud clatter, and he found himself in the middle of several ancient and unusual items.

"Huh?" Muddy said aloud.

He kicked his legs, freeing himself from the mess. Picking up his own items, he shook the dirt out of his fur and slowly stepped around the room, the wood creaking under him. Muddy could see some stairs in the corner, lots of books, and some suspiciously shiny-looking candles and weird lamps.

Muddy sniffed one of the weird-looking lamps. It smelled ancient but new. He picked it up in his mouth and was slowly unzipped his backpack. Boy, Mom would sure love this as a Jamaaliday gift, he thought. _Ember would never know where I got this. Ha!_

But just before he slipped it in, he decided to see what was inside it. Just to make sure there wasn't anything -

It suddenly occurred to Muddy that all the candles were still burning. If this was really a lost place, the candles wouldn't be so tall. He was also sure that the flames would've gone out or the books would've caught fire, but clearly, neither had happened. So if the strange lamp looked so fresh and the candles hadn't gone out, that meant someone was constantly going down here to relight the candles.

By the time he realized it, however -

" _ComposingKnowledge,_ you are going to have consequences once we return to our den. I have told you not to come down here."

 _Oh no. Dad._

Muddy felt his father's teeth clamp down onto his neck, dragging him up the stairs. His eyes went wide and his pulse quickened as he struggled to free himself.

"Uh...Dad! I wasn't - "

"Do not even _think_ of going there," Incredible snapped. "I already told you that - "

"Dad, I was - I was just curious as to what was behind that shelf over there!" Muddy shouted the first excuse that came to his mind.

"Behind that shelf?" Incredible questioned, stopping the middle of the stairs to glare at his son for a moment before dragging him up a trapdoor. "Behind that shelf is a three-day suspension for you and hundreds of scammers who got away with scamming all because I had to come down here and get you, not to mention your angry mother who had to handle all those reports on her own. I am disappointed in you, Muddy."

"Oh, come on, Dad!" Muddy whined. "You can't just suspend me like that!"

"I can, too, because I am your father, and - "

"You can't do that, Dad," a familiar voice said.

Ember.

Incredible scowled. "Young lady, you stay out of this," he snarled.

Ember simply rolled her eyes. "I can be in it if I want," she said. "Muddy's my brother. There's no reason to suspend him. Can't an arctic wolf be an arctic wolf? It's not like he scammed or anything, right?"

"Yeah, Dad!" Muddy protested, but it didn't seem he was heard.

Incredible stood up taller. "You're implying that suspension is bad, which is true. Looks like you have learned a lesson from - "

"Look, Dad, I thought we agreed that we'd never talk about that again. That was five years ago. I'm twelve now, I know better, Lucky's forgiven me, and besides, now have my own fox hat. Like I'm going to do it again. Just don't suspend Muddy. He ain't done nothing wrong."

Incredible's scowl deepened and he muttered something under his breath.

"Alright, fine," he snapped, "I won't suspend your brother. But keep in mind that, if either of you dare to do anything against the rules of Jamaa, you are going to experience the worst day of your life. Understand?"

"Yes!" Muddy squeaked, jumping up.

Incredible exhaled gruffy and stormed off.

Muddy went over to his sister. "Thanks, Ember," he said.

Ember's expression went from protective to irritated.

"Watch out, Muddy," she said, giving him a shove with her paw. "I'm not over with you yet."

Muddy stood back up as Ember spun around and followed after her dad.

He sighed. _Looks like I'm still gonna be "suspended" anyway._

* * *

Rosy Cleverivy gasped with joy when she saw Medieval, her father, and Snickety, her brother, approached the house holding several bags in their mouth. Snickety was running around in circles, jumping in the snow.

As the two burst into the den, Prancing, Rosy's sister, jumped up.

"What did you and Snickety get, Dad?" she asked Medieval.

"We got candy canes!" Snickety piped up.

"She didn't ask you, Snickers," Rosy said as she dug through the bag. "She asked Dad."

Snickety scowled. "I can still say stuff, ya know," he said as if to brag.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can just jump in," Prancing shot back. She pulled out several small boxes from the bags. Rosy smiled. She was glad she had her sister on her side.

Medieval sighed and shook his head. "Nothing's going to keep you three feisty little ones from arguing, is there?"

"Is there what?" a voice said. Forest, Rosy's mother, had come down from upstairs.

"I picked up all the Jamaaliday gifts for us," Medieval said, smiling. "I also picked up some extra decorations and Jamaaliday-themed things…"

Rosy wasn't paying attention. She and Prancing were too busy opening the boxes and taking things out. A frozen garland, a set of ornaments, a new gingerbread baking set, and more were stuffed inside the bags.

"Woah, you two," Forest said, chuckling, "calm down. You haven't even opened your Daily Jamaaliday Gift yet." She handed out a present-like box to everyone, keeping one herself. "Go on now, let's open them."

Prancing slowly undid the ribbon, just like Rosy did. Snickety, however, ripped open the box in two seconds, squealing with joy as he saw what was inside of it.

Rosy rolled her eyes. _Snickety's so rushed and so babyish. He doesn't know how to take his time._ As Rosy slowly took the top off the gift box, she saw the top of something green and red. Her first thought was a top hat, but as she pulled it out, she realized it was something else.

"Oh, Dad! Look!" Rosy shrieked. "I love Jamaaliday hedges!"

Medieval was also holding one in his paws. "These are wonderful," he said. "Brings back so many memories."

"What a great way to start off the Jamaalidays," Forest added, her blue eyes sparkling. "Besides this, anything new?"

"We met two new people in Jamaa today," Snickety said quickly. "They're Awesome and Snowflake. They're both coyotes."

"Really? Coyotes?" Prancing asked in wonder. "I've heard they'd arrived around, but I've never known any around this area."

Medieval nodded. "I was surprised, too, at first, but they seem very happy to be here," he said. "I surely wouldn't mind them being around. Nice to have some new Jammers every once in a while, isn't it?"

Rosy was inspecting her Jamaaliday hedge, looking for any broken lights. "Hope they know where to pick up their gifts," she said. "It would be a shame for them to miss out on this one."

"It seems like they've grabbed theirs already," Medieval replied. "I mean, you get them right in the middle of Township. Hard to miss it, that's for sure. It's the biggest thing besides the statue a little farther north."

Forest laughed. "Mira's so cold, she's turned to ice, poor thing…"

Everyone burst into laughter. As Rosy was having fun, she peered out the window. The snow was piling up, enough to build a big snowman in soon. They'd set the Jamaaliday tree up, and they'd also get to play in the Jamaaliday Rescue adventure party. She loved that icy, snowy maze. Her favorite season is winter and her favorite month is December.

December is coming off to a good start, Rosy thought. 2017 might hold the best December ever. It's going to be fabulous. _I just know it will._


	2. Return of the Gingerbread Mask (Dec 2nd)

**A/N:** December 2nd and there's still no snow ;-; which is crazy because I'm up north in Minnesota. I'll hope for it to come, though, and I'll try and stay updated!

Animal Jam and Play Wild are being really stubborn right now and aren't letting any of us log in. Someone told me the gift was a Gingerbread Mask for today. If for some reason it isn't, let me know.

 _I also don't know whether or not peppermint pancakes are a thing, but if they are...yay for me then? Haha_

* * *

Gallant Jellyscout shook out his fur and pulled open the drawer. Digging through the messy piles of clothes, he found his favorite tan Jamaaliday scarf and slipped it on, along with a light brown tail armor. The red gems and pale yellow stripes gleamed in the mirror.

He bounced down the stairs, the smell of pancakes wafting through the halls.

"Is it pancakes for breakfast?" he asked.

His parents, Rushing and Sparkle, nodded. "We added a little swirl of peppermint to it, too," Sparkle said, adjusting the plates near the sink. "Tell us if it's good or not!"

Gallant sat down in his seat. As he reached to take a bite, his two older and pathetic brothers, Organized and Quick, tumbled down the stairs in a screaming mess.

"I was gonna wear that!" Quick shouted.

"I got it first!" Organized shot back.

"Mom, tell Organized that he got to wear it yesterday! I should get to wear it!" Quick whined as he struggled free of his brother's grip.

Gallant sat there shuddering. Even the Jamaalidays can't stop sibling rivalry, it seems, he thought. His brothers were always fighting over the only spiked collar in the house, but he himself was afraid of sharp objects.

"It's mine! I got it first! Besides, I'm the oldest, so it should be _me_ who wears it!" Organized yelled in fury.

"You two!" Rushing snarled. "Don't even think about arguing right now. If you can't agree on who gets to wear that spiked piece of a phantom, then I may as well trade it away for five hundred hats and beards or recycle it. Maybe _I'll_ wear it instead."

Organized and Quick scowled. "Dad - "

"Don't _Dad_ me," he snapped, imitating their whine. "Both of you, hand over the collar. Now."

Quick's scowl deepened. He reluctantly shoved the collar over to his father and stormed up to his room. Organized bolted out the door and Gallant could hear the small crunch of snow under his paws, slowly getting quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.

As he picked up the black "long" spiked collar, Rushing exhaled and dragged himself into a small room. He reappeared seconds later, closing the door behind him.

"I swear," Sparkle said after a few minutes of silence, "if I got a gem for every time those two break out arguing, I'd be richer than Explorer and Countess Daringartist in only a week."

Gallant shrugged. "Could be worse," he said in a small voice, trying to stay positive. "Such as no snow in December. Can I eat my pancakes now?"

Sparkle smiled and nodded. "Of course, dear."

Gallant picked up his fork with his left paw and dug it in the stack of pancakes, breaking off an edge. He shoved the fork into his mouth and the enticing taste of pancakes exploded throughout him. Seconds later, his mouth started to tingle, and he realized the peppermint must've taken action. He forgot about all the problems in life for a moment.

 _Just like snow,_ he thought. _Covers up all the problematic leaves you just couldn't rake up._

He dug his fork into the pancakes again.

* * *

The sound of Jamaaliday Jingle and the slight wind enveloped Jamaa Township as Empress Icyfire went up to the crowded section of Jamaaliday gifts and squeezed herself in between. _There's Icy, now...Icyfire!_ There it was! She grabbed the boxes that were labeled Legit, Empress, Ocean, and Tranquil, and bounded off towards her family.

She skidded to a stop in front of Legit and her twins. "I got the gifts for us," she said, handing them out. "I wonder what it is."

"After the hedge yesterday, I bet it's something we've had previous years," Ocean said, opening her box.

"I think so too," Legit agreed.

Empress pulled the top off her box and tugged the item out. It felt rough and crumbly.

"Hey, this is cool! I remember these!" Ocean cried with joy. She was holding her gingerbread mask in her paws and was turning it over on all sides.

Tranquil held hers up and beamed. The magenta matched perfectly with her leaf pattern.

"That color suits you well," Empress said to her daughter.

Tranquil smiled. "Thanks, Mom," she replied. "I remember when these didn't have a name before. That was creepy."

Legit scooted closer. "Shall we return to our den and finish decorating for the Jamaalidays?"

Everyone beamed. "Of course!"

* * *

 _Medieval._

Huh?

 _Medieval Cleverivy._

Medieval Cleverivy. Who was that? He expected a response from someone but heard nothing else. He couldn't feel anything. Anything at all.

 _Wake up, Medieval!_

He suddenly jolted awake with a gasp. As he tried to catch his breath, he swiveled his head from side to side rapidly, trying to comprehend what was happening. The room was white with a green pattern, there were diagrams all over the walls, and as he looked down, he realized he was on a white hospital-like bed.

But why was he here?

Medieval had no time to think deeper until he felt someone's paw on his tail.

He jerked his head to the right and saw the faces of Swaggy Rainymoon, Wild Perfectjammer, and Mythical Fireypear.

"Medieval! Are you okay? We've been trying to wake you up for the last hour or so!" Swaggy said in panic. "Does anything hurt?"

"Uh…" Medieval glanced down at his paws and body. He scratched his ear. "Is anything _supposed_ to hurt?"

"You hit your head extremely hard falling off that huge pile of gifts," Wild explained. "You were unconscious when Swaggy and I went over."

Mythical sighed in relief. "It's a miracle you're not hurt. We didn't want to worry Forest and your kids, so we didn't contact them yet."

"Wait…" Medieval wasn't worried about his family right now. "What huge pile of gifts?"

All three looked confused. "I mean, I don't know what it's called for sure. You know that big pile of decorative presents right next to where we get our Jamaaliday gifts? That one," Wild said, clearly bewildered.

Pushing his mind to think, Medieval brought up a picture of it. "Oh. But when did I fall off? I've never climbed that before. I don't even remember when I fell asleep."

Mythical turned to Swaggy and Wild. "You _sure_ he fell off that?" he asked them.

"I clearly remember I had asked him to get the string of lights that had somehow blown off the candy cane post," Swaggy said, confused. "It was on top of the gift pile. Then after he grabbed them, he suddenly came tumbling down." He then turned to Medieval. "Don't you remember _anything,_ Medieval?"

Medieval thought and thought, but the last thing he could remember doing was opening his Jamaaliday gift and getting the gingerbread mask. Then, he was here.

"All I remember was getting my gingerbread mask," he said, "and then I suddenly woke up here. I mean, something feels missing, like some part of my body is empty, but otherwise, I feel fine."

"Oh, about that…" Wild said suddenly, turning away and grabbing something, "your furry hat fell off. Here it is."

Medieval put his blue furry hat back on. Before he could say anything in return, however, Mythical butted in.

"Well, if you're uninjured, and there's no sign of anything at all…" Mythical paused. "You can go, I guess. But if anything feels strange, then find me _right away._ "

Medieval nodded. "Thanks, guys," hesaid, and hopped out of the building.

* * *

Lucky Rainymoon was lonely. Although she giggled to herself whenever she played in the snow or played a board game all by herself, she always felt like she never had any friends to play with or any siblings to have fun with. She liked being an only child, that's for sure - she couldn't stand the thought of an annoying brother or sister - but she sometimes wished she had a sibling to be with.

As she started rolling a snowball in the snow, pushing it around with her long ears, she saw a fox skid to a stop next to her.

"Hey, Lucky, what are you doing?" Rosy asked.

Lucky smiled. "Making a snowman, I guess," she said. "Wanna help me?"

Rosy shrugged. "Why not? My parents won't mind."

The two began to roll the snowball bigger and bigger until they could roll it no more. Then they began another one, a little smaller, and hoisted it on top of the first one they'd made. Rosy found two sticks for arms, Lucky found an old scarf and hat, and they both worked to find flat items for the eyes and mouth.

At last, they stood back and admired their work.

"I think we did good," Rosy said happily. "But something's missing."

Lucky tilted her head at their snowman. "You're right," she agreed, "something is missing. But what?" She couldn't quite put a finger on what it was.

After a few seconds, Rosy piped up. "I've got it! He's missing a nose! But we don't have a carrot nearby, do we?"

"The carrot patch is covered with snow...and anyway, this is no condition for carrots to be growing," Lucky said sadly.

"Hmm...maybe we can use something other than a carrot," Rosy suggested. "Maybe something more Jamaaliday-like."

"Jamaaliday-like…!" Lucky dug into her coat pocket. "I have a candy cane we can use!" She took it out of the wrapper, went up to the snowman, and jumping as high as she could, stuck it in the middle of the snowman's face.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Rosy.

The two friends backed up again and sighed, just as light snowflakes began to drift down from the clouds. A cold breeze swept through Lucky and she shivered slightly, but she felt warm. Warm because Rosy was around. Warm because she wasn't always alone.

Warm because she had a friend.


	3. Getting Into the Spirit (Dec 3rd)

**A/N:** This one's gonna be short, and probably Dec. 4th too. I have too much homework I haven't completed ;-; but eh. They give you homework for a reason, don't they? lol

I also don't know if you've realized, it seems I can collect the Play Wild gift a day in advance. I got this day's gift yesterday...what? Probably cause of time zones o3o

* * *

Crashing Courageousclaw hung the Zios ornament right next to the Mira ornament and stepped next to his sister, Fauna. They sat next to each other and gazed at their small Jamaaliday tree.

"Small but with lots of meaning," Fauna said after a few long seconds of silence. "Mom loves the Jamaalidays."

"Dad does, too, even if summer's his favorite season," Crashing added. "It's a shame we can't all be together this year."

Fauna nodded. "Yeah," she said sadly. Then she perked up. "We haven't gotten our Jamaaliday gifts yet! I thought something was missing from this morning."

 _Oh, right!_ "We'd better go grab them now, before it gets too crowded," Crashing said, jumping up and putting on his rare parka. He and Fauna dashed out the door, through the snow, and stopped at Jamaa Township - where only a small crowd had just began to form.

* * *

Noble Jazzyclaw felt along the edge of the gift pile with his tail, stopping until it was gone. He took ginger steps to the side and felt for a familiar-feeling wooden board, then stopped.

Someone had brought him the gift yesterday. But, being blind, how was he supposed to get it himself? He was sure they didn't have the names written in braille.

"I'll get it for you, Noble," someone said.

Seconds later, he felt a box on top of his head. As he reached to open it, Noble realized that the person who had gotten it for him was Crashing Courageousclaw.

"Thanks, Crashing," said Noble. "Now, I'd better get out of this crowd…"

He felt Crashing nudge him slightly in one direction. "It's this way," Crashing said.

Noble smiled, unsure if Crashing could see it. "Thanks again," he said gratefully. "It's lucky to have such kind-hearted Jammers around."

"Really?" came another voice. Noble recognized it at Fauna Courageousclaw. "If we count as kind-hearted, it's not just us, then. There's definitely Forest and Medieval, there's Swaggy and Magical, and so many more Jammers. If you dig deep enough, you'll find their true heart - just like gold!"

"Well said," Crashing agreed. "All Jammers have gold."

"It's probably scammers that are looking for it…" Noble said quietly, causing Crashing and Fauna to laugh.

"Now, let's see what this gift is today…" Fauna said. There was a small sound and Noble realized she had opened her Jamaaliday gift. Crashing must have done the same, so Noble felt around for the top and opened it.

He reached a paw inside, slowly bringing it out. He felt a string and many things attached to it. He remembered them when he could still see.

"Let me guess, is this...either Jamaaliday bells or festive lights?"

"You're right, it's Jamaaliday bells!" Crashing exclaimed. "They look the same as they've always been."

Noble beamed. "Man, I'll know the perfect spot in my den to put these."

* * *

Prancing Cleverivy peered through the snowy wind. She loved the Jamaalidays, but she didn't really like the cold. She thought it was stupid for anyone to like winter alone. What Jammer just likes wet snow and plain white all over? No green, no red, no orange, no fun.

That was why she wished she was inside right now.

"Prancing, aren't you going to help?" Rosy called. She was busy adjusting a hedge in front of the door.

"I just want to go inside. This isn't really fun," Prancing griped.

"Not even that cold outside!" Snickety shouted before laughing.

"Well, I don't care, I don't like it," Prancing grumbled again. "Dad, can I please go inside?"

Medieval sighed. "I don't see why you want to, but...go ahead. I won't make you stay. Your mom's inside making hot cocoa - maybe you can help her."

Prancing shook the snow out of her fur and swiped it off her paws. She quickly walked inside the den and took off her hat and Jamaaliday scarf.

Forest was standing at the stove, watching the water boil.

"Hey, Mom," Prancing said as she sat down at the table.

Her mother turned around. "Oh, hi, Prancing," she said, smiling. "Looks like the wind shoved you in, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Prancing said, laughing, "I guess it did."

Forest turned off the stove and took the pot of water off. "Just about to boil...perfect," she said as she poured it in cups. "Prancing, could you get the hot cocoa mix out for me? It's on the top shelf, but I need to remember to put it on the bottom one soon."

"Sure, Mom!" Prancing jumped out of her seat and went over to the shelves, which were next to the stove. She glanced up slightly, and saw the can of hot cocoa mix right on the edge. Grabbing it, she put it on the table right next to the cups.

There was a moment of silence. The sound of hot water getting poured into everyone's mugs was the only sound in the entire den.

"I'd better go see how Dad, Rosy, and Snickety are doing," Prancing said suddenly. Without waiting for Forest's response, Prancing dashed outside, the icy wind biting at her.

Medieval and Rosy were hanging up strands of Jamaaliday bells, the daily gifts they'd gotten today. Occasionally, the wind caused the bells to jingle slightly. Snickety was adding the finishing touches to a snowman.

"Hot cocoa is almost ready, you three," Prancing called.

"Okay!" the rest of them all shouted in unison, but Prancing was already back inside.

* * *

Velvet Daringartist smiled. She watched the snow fall onto her Jamaaliday sweater, melting almost instantaneously. Another gust of wind blew through her, but she only smiled.

The Jamaalidays were meant for deer. It was _her_ month. December was specially for the deer of Jamaa. Her parents, Sheriff and Timid, were also deer, so this month was for them as well.

Velvet always felt special, but December made her feel even more special.

The snow piled up around her hooves, just showing how long she had been standing out here. She reached down and licked the pristine snow, the icy stuff melting instantly on her tongue - and leaving a tingling cold feeling throughout her.

As she brought her head back up, she glanced around. The snow could go on forever, but to the left, there was the faint dot of Jamaa Township. Another person's den must be to the right, she thought. People have been heading out this way. _It can't be too empty._

Suddenly, in her mind, she could hear Jamaaliday Jingle. How she loved that music. She started dancing around in the snow, kicking up flurries. Velvet smiled to herself, knowing that this year's Jamaalidays would be amazing - truly amazing, and nothing more.


	4. A Random New Day (Dec 4th)

Ember Spiritmeadow scowled.

"Rosy," she snarled, "you are going to pay for this."

"I didn't do it! I swear! Not yesterday, not today!" Rosy protested.

Ember scowled again. "You did too! You took my Jamaaliday bells _and_ my holly bracelet today! You were just jealous 'cause you didn't get the colors you wanted!"

Rosy stood up taller, holding her bracelet out. "My bracelet is red and green, and so is yours, so how could I have wanted to scam you?" she growled. "Jamaaliday bells also have no color variation. You just want to get me in trouble."

 _Oops, that didn't work._ "Well, I have proof you did it! You were right next to here, and you touched my box!" Ember shouted, sure that Rosy would get in trouble now.

That only earned an eye roll from her enemy. Rosy strutted over to the Jamaaliday Gifts. "My box is over here. _Cleverivy_ starts with C. _Spiritmeadow,_ on the other hand…" She walked over to the other side of the board. "...starts with an S, and is right _here._ Also, you were never there to even pick up your own gifts both yesterday and today. It was your mother who got them."

"Ugh…" Ember snarled once more. "Well, I still have proof! You - "

"What's the deal here?" a voice said. Gallant had walked over with a confused look on his face.

Ember gasped. "Oh, Gallant," she said, faking the sadness in her voice, "Rosy scammed my Jamaaliday gift! She just wanted the color _I_ got and I wouldn't trade it to her, so she tried to steal it!"

"I did not!" Rosy shot back. "Gallant, her bracelet is the same color as mine. I wouldn't've scammed her if they were the same color! Look!"

Gallant had started to walk over until Ember yanked him back.

"She also took my Jamaaliday bells! She's so mean, Gallant!" Ember whined, starting to fake tears.

"Are you stupid enough to think that Jamaaliday bells have different colors, Ember?" Rosy snapped. "I didn't touch any of your gifts, ever. I have never scammed, _ever,_ unlike _you._ "

Gallant nodded. "She's right, Ember," he said, walking next to Rosy. "I know Rosy better than I know you. Rosy would never scam or hurt anyone on purpose. She'd also never dare touch someone else's Jamaaliday Gift, unless she was getting it for someone. Your tricks don't make any sense." Then he turned to Rosy and smiled. "Let's head on to school. We wouldn't want to be late, would we?"

A light blush spread through Rosy's face, despite the cold breeze. "Sure," she said, laughing slightly. "Let's go!"

The two smiled and dashed off towards school.

Ember scowled and threw her stuff down. She was _so close_ to getting Rosy suspended and earning Gallant. How come Rosy, a stupid _fox,_ is liked by anyone at all? I'm better than her, Ember thought. _How come Gallant doesn't like me?_

* * *

"Alright, everyone," Major Modernstone said. "Let's settle down." Then he peered behind Ocean's desk. "Ocean, who sits behind you again?"

"Um...my sister, Tranquil," responded Ocean. "She's sick today, that's all."

"Okay, I'll mark her excused…" Major said, going to his computer and taking attendance. "It looks like everyone else is here on time."

"Ember's not here," Gallant pointed out.

Major looked up suddenly, realizing Ember's desk was empty. "You're right, she's not. Thank you, Gallant. Does anyone know where Ember is right now?"

Suddenly, Ember burst through the door. She gave Rosy a dirty look and and Gallant a sad one. Then she plopped down in her seat and scowled for no apparent reason.

"You're tardy, Ember," Major said.

"It wasn't my fault, Mister Modernstone," Ember objected. "Rosy shoved me in the snow. I was hurt. I couldn't get up!"

Rosy spun around. "Ember, I did no such thing, and you know it!" she said in fury.

As the two launched into an argument, Major snuck a glance at Ember's paws. She didn't seem to be injured at all. There was no pain whatsoever in her voice, and either way, Rosy wouldn't push anyone in the snow. He knew that for a fact.

"Ember, Rosy, no more talking," Major said calmly, keeping his composure.

"But - "

"That is _enough,_ Ember," Major said, his tone more firm. "Regardless of whether or not Rosy pushed you, you are still tardy, and that is that. Rosy would never do anything to hurt anyone by purpose. Everyone in this class knows it themselves."

Ember groaned. "Mister Modernstone - "

"I will hear absolutely no more from you," Major snapped as he marked Ember late. "Everyone, please get out your homework from over the weekend. I understand there were a few problems involving skills I haven't taught you yet, and I apologize - but don't worry, as long as you tried and showed all your work, I'll give you full credit. We'll also go over it…"

* * *

After school that day, Velvet Amusingscholar bounded next to Lucky Rainymoon.

"Hey, Lucky," she said, "what color is your bracelet?"

"Which one?"

"The holly bracelet. The one in the Jamaaliday Gift Calendar today."

"Oh, mine's blue. What color is yours?" Lucky responded, holding up her bracelet to show Velvet.

Velvet dug inside her backpack. "Mine is orange and green. I wonder how many color varieties there are!"

"Rosy and Ember both got red and green," Lucky said, thinking. "But I bet there's more. Let's ask around!"

* * *

Countess Daringartist flew over several buildings in Jamaa, all snow-covered. Soon, the buildings faded off, and there were scattered dens - some decorated, some not, some abandoned and empty.

She descended down at an abandoned-looking den and slowly tried to knock on the door, but before she had even touched it, the door collapsed into a cloud of debris and dust.

Countess coughed and waved away the dust. As the dust subsided, she noticed piles of old wood. This den must have been abandoned quite a long time ago, she thought. She slowly shook the walls, but they didn't budge. It seemed they needed repairing, but they'd stand up fine.

Flapping her wings, the wind brought her back up into helicopter view. This den looked great for a family of four.

She stopped on the ground again and started clearing away the debris. She and Explorer had too many gems in their claws, and they had decided to spend it on rebuilding abandoned dens and making it so that a new family could live in it. There were thousands of abandoned dens in Jamaa, but one was a start.

After all, thought Countess, a little goes a long way.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know. Short. But Day 5 will make up for some of it...hopefully. I'm running behind aaaaah


	5. A Jamaaliday Mystery - Part I (Dec 5th)

**A/N:** A little mystery here…and we finally got snow! WOOHOO

* * *

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" Quick and Gallant called as they headed off to school. "See you later!"

Sparkle smiled. "I'll come by to pick you up after school!"

Rushing Jellyscout sighed. _Man, they're growing up so fast. Organized is already fifteen and Quick's already fourteen, and Gallant's even already twelve…_

He snapped back into reality. "Well, we'd better head off to work. Right after we drop off Organized and pick up the Jamaaliday gifts, of course. And if - "

There was a sudden shout of pain from a nearby building, but nobody else seemed to notice.

"What was that?" Organized asked. "Sounds like someone encountered a phantom!"

Rushing strained his ears to listen for anything else, but he heard nothing. "I don't know," he said. "I'm going to go check, just to make sure. Stay over here, I'll be right back."

With that, he dashed off in the direction of the shout.

Around half a minute later, he arrived at an isolated and small building. The huge door was ajar and as Rushing peered inside, he gasped in horror.

Awesome Snowylight was lying in the middle of the room, completely knocked out. Someone - or something - had hit him _hard_ on the head, maybe almost as hard as Medieval had fallen that other day. Decorations were scattered across the room.

Rushing's first instinct was to run and get Incredible, but he figured that whoever had done this wasn't very far away. He darted outside, sniffing for any clues, but he realized that nobody else had been around here for at least 24 hours besides Awesome.

Wandering back to the door, Rushing thought and thought. "Maybe I should get Incredible," he said aloud. "Maybe...maybe this isn't…"

That was when he realized the Jamaaliday welcome mat lying next to the open door.

He tried to pick it up, but it was heavy and thick. He thought if this may have had something to do with -

"Rushing Jellyscout."

He spun around. "Who the - ?"

Notable Spiritmeadow, Incredible's wife, was glaring at him, her paw tapping the ground.

"No wonder," she said, scowling. "Your son is always taking sides with a fox instead of an arctic wolf. He must have learned those ways from you, Rushing."

Rushing was confused. "What?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Notable snapped. "You know very well what you just did to Awesome!"

Rushing turned to look inside the building. He saw Awesome lying there. "I don't know what you're talking about, Notable, I - "

"You're next to a welcome mat," Notable said quietly, her tone sharp as she walked closer to Medieval. "The only pawprints in that building are yours and Awesome's. This Jamaaliday mat you have is thick enough to knock a person out. Since nobody else was around, and Awesome was obviously hit just a few minutes ago, you're the only one who could have done it!"

Now Rushing understood. His mouth went dry. "What, no! I did no such thing!"

Sparkle was now walking by. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Notable raised her eyebrows. "Why, Sparkle," she scoffed, "your husband has just committed a crime. He physically hurt Awesome. Now, that deserves being suspended - or maybe being _exiled._ "

Suddenly, Rushing found himself inside a cage. He grabbed at the bars. "I was just coming over to see what was going on! I swear to Mira, I did no such thing!" he shouted. _I can't be exiled. Not for something I didn't do. What about Sparkle and all the kids? How will they manage?_

"You...you - Notable, how can you just _assume_ something? Rushing wouldn't dare do anything like this, and you know it yourself!" Sparkle shouted, about to cry.

"Dad wouldn't do that!" Organized screamed.

"Then what explains the fact that the only footprints around are Awesome's and Rushing's, and Rushing was next to a welcome mat thick enough to knock someone out?" Notable said. "He is going to be exiled from Jamaa now."

Rushing's heart turned into stone. "I can prove to you I didn't do it!" he shouted through the bars just as Notable was taking him away. "Give me another chance! I can prove it to you!"

Notable scowled. "Alright, I'll give you until three o'clock tomorrow and _no more,_ " she snapped. "Let's just see how well you do!"

"I'll find the evidence!" Organized said, standing taller. A tear slid out of his left eye. "Dad, I promise I will!"

* * *

Organized blinked back tears. _Now is not the time to cry. Now is the time to prevent Dad from getting exiled. You gotta look for evidence._

He picked up his magnifying glass and looked around the room. Everything was normal. Awesome had since woken up, but he had said he didn't see who had hit him with the branch.

"I wish Dad was here," Organized said out loud, his voice trembling. He sat down. "Dad would know what to do."

Then he stood back up. "What would Dad do?"

Organized knew Rushing would memorize the details, even if they didn't make any sense. His eyes darted from one end of the room to another. There were boxes of decorations, lots of lights, and a ladder on its side.

But how could that possibly lead to anything?

 _It's hidden in plain sight,_ Organized remembered. _Think about it. The ladder must have fallen over. Awesome seemed to have been hit on the head. Today's Jamaaliday gift was a Jamaaliday welcome mat…_

Then Organized remembered.

* * *

" _Well, we'd better head off to work," Rushing said as they walked through the snow. "Right after we drop off Organized and pick up the Jamaaliday gifts, of course. And if - "_

 _There was a sudden shout of pain from a nearby building, but nobody else seemed to notice._

* * *

His family hadn't gotten their gifts yet. And if he thought more clearly, Awesome hadn't, either. His box was there, too. The daily gift today must have been a Jamaaliday welcome mat.

So if Awesome wasn't hit…

He tried to join the pieces of the puzzle in his head, but nothing worked. Too many missing pieces. There weren't enough trees to make the forest.

Organized slumped down and sighed, ready to give up. Rushing would be exiled. He wouldn't have a father. He wouldn't be able to -

"No," he said aloud, standing up suddenly. "No. Dad will not be exiled for something he didn't do!"

He started looking for more clues as to what really happened again.

If there aren't enough trees, he thought, then plant some.

* * *

Rushing sighed.

"Incredible, can't you tell her that...that I did nothing?" he pleaded. "Please?"

Incredible topped pacing around the cage. "Look, Rushing," he said softly, "I'm a moderator. And because I am, I have to be fair. I can't just believe a friend even if I want to. I have to exile whoever has done something wrong, regardless of whether or not I want to. It's a lot more complex than you think, and it's difficult searching for evidence if we have so much work on our paws. Really, I...I don't want to exile you from Jamaa, but I have to if Organized doesn't come back with evidence sooner or later."

Rushing backed up from the bars and slunk back down. "I didn't do it. I know I didn't, and everyone knows I didn't," he said. "I'd never hit Awesome. Everyone knows that."

"But if there's evidence you did it, then I have to exile you one way or another…"

"You can't, Incredible," Rushing said quickly. "I can't leave Sparkle and my sons here alone. They won't know what to do. I can't live without them. What about all those Jammers you exiled before? What if they didn't really do anything wrong and - "

"We don't lift exilation and…" Incredible breathed in. "Who knows where they are now. Maybe they're in the hands of the phantoms or Mira."

"But it isn't fair," Rushing said. "It isn't right. Just because there's evidence doesn't mean it's true. Maybe it's false. Maybe…"

He couldn't think of any more "maybe's".

"I'm sorry, Rushing, I really am," Incredible said comfortingly. "But I know your son can do it. I know he can prove Notable wrong."

* * *

Organized felt a paw on his shoulder.

"Huh?" he squeaked, startled. He spun around to see who it was.

His brothers, Quick and Gallant, were with him too.

"He's also our dad," they said. "We should help too. We should save him from being exiled."

Organized smiled sadly. "Thanks, guys," he said, wiping away a tear. "We can do this together. Dad won't be exiled!"

The three went to work, investigating every box, every corner, and everything that was inside. Organized had never felt so glad to have his brothers with him.

* * *

Nine hours later, they collapsed onto each other.

"We found nothing…" Quick choked out. "And…"

"Mrs. Spiritmeadow said we could have until one o'clock tomorrow," Organized pointed out. "We still have time!"

"But what if we don't? If we haven't figured out a single thing today besides decorations and a ladder after six or seven hours, how will we get anything tomorrow?" Gallant asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Come on, guys! We can do it! Think, if Dad gets exiled because we weren't working hard enough…?" Organized said, his voice getting quieter.

"But what if we…?"

"No more 'what if's'!" Organized snapped, jumping up. "We'll save Dad! Now!"

The door creaked suddenly, and it began to close. Darkness spread throughout the room.

"ZIOS! It's dark outside already! If Mom finds out, she'll turn us into chicken!" Quick shouted in panic. He Quickly tried to keep the huge and heavy door from closing, but his own strength didn't seem to be enough. "Guys, help!"

Organized threw himself at the door, trying to push it open. Gallant helped, too.

They managed to stop the door from closing with the same Jamaaliday welcome mat that was there earlier. Both sure were heavy.

"It's time to go home now," Organized said sadly. "We'll try again tomorrow, I guess…"

Quick and Gallant sighed. They both nodded and started back to the den.

Organized dawdled behind, but all of a sudden, he couldn't take his mind off the door. It was huge and heavy. The mat was also huge and heavy. Rushing was next to the mat when he'd gone over, and it looked like he had tried to pick it up.

"Could this…?" he wondered.

But there still weren't enough trees to make the forest.


	6. A Jamaaliday Mystery - Part II (Dec 6th)

**A/N:** Here is part two of the little mystery. Enjoy & don't forget to drop a review!

* * *

Sparkle woke up, turning to her side. The clock read 7:20. She was supposed to wake up at seven.

"Rushing?" she said, turning to face the other side of the bed. "Rushing, we're a little…"

Then she remembered. Rushing was to be exiled at one o'clock today, if nobody found evidence, of course.

Sparkle laid back down on the bed, sighing.

Without Rushing, all this area of Jamaa would be helpless. Rushing was so loving and caring and so _amazing._ If he was exiled, Jamaa would lose its _everything._ He couldn't be exiled from here. Not during the Jamaalidays, or any day of the year, for that matter…

"Rushing will not be exiled," Sparkle said out loud, tears filling up her eyes. "Rushing will not be exiled. We'll find the evidence and he won't be exiled."

She jumped up and started to make breakfast.

* * *

Incredible paced around the room, in front of Rushing's cage.

To exile or not to exile, that is the question, he thought.

Rushing had done nothing wrong, that was for sure. He knew it himself. But with Notable already presenting evidence, he had no choice. He really didn't want to exile Rushing. He was a good friend and did the best he could to support others. Exiling him from Jamaa was the craziest idea anyone could -

"Incredible?"

Incredible snapped back to reality. He turned, only to see Rushing staring at him with near puppy eyes.

"Please don't exile me," he squeaked. "Please…"

Incredible turned away, knowing that if he took another glance at Rushing, he'd start crying. "I don't want to, Rushing, I really don't," he said. "I know you did nothing wrong. But, like I said, I'm a moderator, I have to be fair. I'd have to exile my own children if I had to. It...I don't know how to explain. I'm sorry. Honestly, exiling you or Medieval or anyone like that - it might be the last thing I'd ever think of doing."

Rushing slunk back down and sighed. "I wish it was fairer."

"Me too, Rushing," Incredible said, nodding. "Me too."

* * *

Later that day, Organized was poking through the same building with his brothers.

"Nothing makes any sense," Gallant griped. "We've looked and looked and still found nothing. Just a ladder and nothing else."

Suddenly, the light coming from the single light bulb snapped off. The only light was from the open door.

"Aw, man," Quick said, "now I've gotta replace the lightbulb. Must've been old or something. I sure hope the power didn't just go off."

Organized jumped up. "I'll do it," he said. "Just bring the ladder over here. And don't forget a new light bulb."

Quick and Gallant wedged the ladder next to Organized, and Gallant handed over the new light bulb. As Organized held the bulb in his mouth, he quickly climbed up the ladder and -

"Watch out! The ceiling's low!" Quick shouted.

Organized gasped. The world spun around, there was a loud clatter, and he found himself lying on his side - on the floor.

"Are you okay, Organized?" Quick asked his eyes wide. Gallant was at his side in an instant.

Organized's head was spinning, but he firmly told it to stop. Seconds later, he regained his sense.

"I'm okay," Organized said, trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine. Just…"

 _Hold on a second._

The ladder was on its side, and Awesome Snowylight couldn't have been hit.

"That's it!" Organized shouted, standing up instantly. "I know the reason why Awesome was hit on the head! He wasn't hit by anyone or anything. He hit his head on the ceiling while trying to replace the light bulb!"

The other two squealed, but then Gallant stopped.

"Mrs. Spiritmeadow still has evidence, though, that Dad actually hit Awesome," he said sadly.

Organized sighed. "You're right…"

But then he remembered something.

* * *

 _All of a sudden, Organized couldn't take his mind off the door. It was huge and heavy. The mat was also huge and heavy. Rushing was next to the mat earlier, and it looked like he had tried to pick it up._

" _Could that be the…?_

* * *

"Dad couldn't've hit Awesome! The mat was only there to stop the huge door from closing!" Organized said, his heart beating fast. They were getting somewhere now. "Dad couldn't have picked it up. It's way too heavy! The door was already open and Dad couldn't have pulled it open on his own if it was closed!"

All three brothers jumped up. "You're so right, Organized! We have to tell Mrs. Spiritmeadow _now!_ "

* * *

"Mom! Mom, mom, mom!" Voices echoed through the den. "Mom, we found it! We found the real person who hit Awesome! It wasn't Dad!"

Sparkle sat up. "What?" she said with joy. "What? Who was it?"

"It was the ceiling!" Gallant said quickly. "We found out that Awesome was trying to replace a light bulb, but he went up too fast and hit his head on the ceiling! Nobody even hit him!"

Sparkle felt her heart leap with joy. "This means your father...will not be exiled?"

"He won't!"

* * *

Rushing Jellyscout sighed.

Where would he go if he was exiled? Would he be forced to take sides with the phantoms? No, no - he promised the Alphas he'd never do so. He wasn't even sure if the phantoms were real. He had nightmares before, of them attacking Jamaa, but nothing else.

Notable glanced at her watch and smiled. "You're to be exiled in half an hour, Rushing," she said with satisfaction. "In half an hour - "

That was when Sparkle, Organized, Quick, Gallant, and Awesome burst through the door.

"Wait!" they cried. "We know what happened! Dad is innocent!"

Notable smirked. "Oh, really?"

Awesome harrumphed. "I remember I was trying to put in a new light bulb," he said, "and then it happened. Nobody walked into the room - I was watching."

"But the ladder was too tall," Organized explained. "So he must've hit his head on the ceiling!"

Rushing nodded. "That must have been what happened!"

"No, impossible!" Notable argued, shaking her head. "Rushing here was holding a mat - "

"That mat was used to hold the huge door open," Quick interrupted. "Also, there was no way Dad could've picked it up. It's way too heavy."

"Exactly!" Rushing exclaimed. "You have to let me go!"

Notable scowled and opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped my Incredible.

"Notable, what you said is reasonable, but I don't think Rushing would do such a thing," he said, slowly unlocking the cage. "Besides, if nobody walked into the room - just like Awesome said here - it was most likely because he hit his head on the ceiling."

He lifted the latch and Rushing bolted out, running into his family.

"I thought we'd never see you again, Dad!" Gallant said, burying his face in his father's chest.

"Dear Mira, I thought you'd be gone forever…" Sparkle said quietly. "I'm so glad you're back!"

Rushing smiled. "I'd never leave you, no matter what."

Behind him, Rushing could tell that Notable was looking down at the ground and sighing.

"One moment…" he said to his family. Then he turned to Notable.

"Notable?" he said.

"I'm sorry, I...I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday," Notable stammered. "It's just - it's just that I - well - "

"It's okay, we all make mistakes," Rushing said, a smile spreading across his face. "I forgive you. Besides, all that's well ends well. What is important is now - not in the past."

Notable looked up. "Thank you," she said. "Again, I'm sorry…"

"No time for apologizing…" Rushing said jokingly. "Let's go have some fun now!"

They all ran outside, laughing and playing in the snow like children.


	7. Why is it Broken? (Dec 7th)

**A/N:** So I was supposed to post earlier, but I had an orchestra concert tonight and -_- I just about failed. Thank God - er, Zios - that I wasn't a 100% individual soloist. Here's a (really) short chapter. Bye, I'm going to sleep now ~

* * *

"Hey! Why is mine broken?"

The shouts of Jammers drowned out Jamaaliday Jingle as they opened their Daily Jamaaliday Gifts.

"Mine's broken, too!"

"This isn't fair!"

"Why are the ornaments all shattered?"

Tranquil Icyfire, puzzled, opened her own box, only to be greeted with a shattered red ornament. She quickly glanced around at everyone else, but theirs were broken, too. It looked like _everyone's_ gift was a shattered ornament of some color.

She scratched her head and set the box down, bringing out a small shard. Then she picked up another, and another, and eventually put the entire ornament back in place.

"Hey...Dad? Is yours broken too?" she asked Legit, her father.

Legit nodded. "Looks like everyone's is."

"But why?" Ocean griped, sighing. "Why are they all broken? There must be some mistake."

The Cleverivy family bounced over. "Are yours all broken?" Forest Cleverivy asked. "Ours are!"

Empress nodded. "I simply don't understand why. We must talk to the moderators about this…"

Tranquil wasn't listening. She was too busy trying to figure out something with the ornament. She dug inside Legit's box, Empress' box, and Ocean's box, bringing out all the pieces of their ornaments.

It seemed each Jammer had the exact same broken shards. This couldn't possibly happen by accident.

"Something's fishy here," Tranquil said, putting the pieces together. "How come all the shards are the same for each Jammer and arranged in such a fashion?"

Snickety Cleverivy perked up. "Hey, that is weird," he agreed. "Can you try putting the pieces together?"

Tranquil took one piece from her ornament, one from Ocean's, one from Empress', and one from Legit's, each a different piece.

They still fit together perfectly.

She then remembered going to a party hosted by the Amusingscholar family. It was experiment-, science-, and lab-themed. A small shop in the corner sold several science items, and some of them were broken beakers.

Those were _supposed_ to be broken…

"What if these are supposed to be broken ornaments?" Tranquil said suddenly. "Just like the broken beakers. That would explain why everyone's is broken and why they fit back together no matter what."

"That does make sense…" Rosy said. "Is there the name of the item on anyone's box?"

Everyone looked at theirs and gasped.

"It's called _Broken Jamaaliday Ornament…_ " Medieval said with realization.

"Let's double check with Incredible, though," Empress said.

* * *

"Yes, they're supposed to be broken," Incredible explained. "Or at least I'm pretty sure. I don't know why we'd get gifts like these, but...they make some sort of sense. Life can't be perfect, can it?"

Everyone laughed.


	8. What? (Dec 8th)

**A/N:** This is to be short yet again, but I've been working on chapter 9 and the Dec. 25th chapter. Woohoo

I also want to make it clear that I'm going to be writing this thing until December 31, not ending right on the Jamaalidays. So, yeah, expect some nice stuff coming up soon...and some tragic stuff (sorry) :D

* * *

Muddy Spiritmeadow stopped, an idea suddenly popping in his head. As he rolled up a snowball, a sly smile crept onto his face. Then, he threw it hard at his sister, causing Ember to shriek.

"Muddy! You are so dead!" she snarled, attacking him.

They were there in the snow, thrashing, kicking, screaming.

Notable and Incredible yanked them apart. "If you two end up like this again on the way back or on the Jamaalidays, you better expect no presents!" Incredible chided.

Notable gasped. "Incredible! Don't do that to - "

"They need to learn what's right and what's wrong!"

"But not like _that!_ "

"Yeah, Dad!" Muddy and Ember whined. "You can't just give us no presents!"

Incredible scowled. "Well, your mother will give you presents. I, on the other hand, may not. That depends on how you behave. Santa isn't going to give presents to naughty kids, and you know it."

"Nice try, Dad, but we don't believe in Santa anymore," Ember said, rolling her eyes.

"Then behave yourselves or you aren't going to get _any_ presents at all! Maybe I'll confiscate your Jamaaliday Gifts for the rest of the month, or - "

"No way!" Ember and Muddy shouted. They jumped up and raced to the Jamaaliday Gift Calendar, snatching their gifts and ripping the boxes open.

The result was surprising.

"What...the phantom...is this?" Muddy said after a few seconds of silence.

It was Jamaaliday-themed mech angel wings.

"These are stupid," Ember grumbled.

"I think they're nice," a voice said.

Velvet Amusingscholar had walked over with her family. "At least we didn't get some bad item like deer fur."

"You're right, but I still think this is stupid," Muddy said, shrugging. "I thought today was going to be candy cane socks. Aren't those always on the eighth of December?

"I thought so too, but maybe they decided to do something else for today this year," Timid Amusingscholar said. "I mean, unless those have been discontinued."

"Zios, I hope not. I love candy cane socks. If they suddenly go up in value, I'm dead meat," Muddy said, sighing.

"What do you mean, dead meat? You have, like, 500 of those. If candy cane socks rise in value, you're going to be the rarest person in Jamaa," Notable pointed out.

"Well, you're right, but who knows how I might get scammed."

Velvet laughed. "Just don't fall for anything suspicious. Simple as that."

"Yeah, okay, but how do I tell the difference?" Muddy asked.

Ember rolled her eyes. "If someone tells you to do something that isn't fair, then don't do it. Easy."

"But what if it's so true to the point where I just have to believe it?" Muddy sighed.

"Don't and you won't get scammed. So easy like that. I know scamming."

Incredible laughed. "Exactly."

" _Dad!_ "


	9. Slipping and Sliding (Dec 9th)

Fauna Courageousclaw sighed, stifling a yawn.

Why hadn't Crashing woken up yet? Usually he was the one up an hour before she was. It didn't seem right.

She decided to go upstairs to see what was up. As far as she knew, he could have climbed out the window and went to play in the snow, being the childish arctic fox he was. Or maybe he could've died from hypothermia through the night, though Fauna doubted that would ever happen.

"Crashing?" Fauna said, slowly pushing open the door. "Crashing, are you okay?"

There was a trembling lump on the bed, covered in blankets, but no response.

Fauna was confused. She walked closer to the bed. "Crashing, wake up!"

When her brother sat up, she was shocked at the sight.

Crashing's fur was messed up. It seemed to have lost all color to it, remaining only a pale brown instead of the dark chocolate shade he usually had. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked so...tired.

"Oh my Mira, Crashing...are you sick?"

Crashing shook his head. "I'm okay," he said, his voice all scratchy. "I'm fine…" He suddenly started coughing for a few seconds.

 _No doubt he's sick._

"Okay, uh…" Fauna said, not knowing what to say. "Just lay back down. You're not going anywhere else today!"

"But I have things to do - "

"Don't. Even. Think. Of. Working. Today," Fauna firmly said. "I don't want you to push yourself in this condition!"

Crashing scowled, or tried to. "Fauna…"

"You're sick. If you get any sicker, you're not going to be able to enjoy the Jamaalidays! Think about that!"

"But - "

"No more 'buts'." Fauna said firmly. "Stay in bed!"

* * *

Medieval glanced up at the sky, sighing.

It had rained last night, melting all the snow. Suddenly, it had gotten colder, freezing all the rain - coating all of Jamaa in ice. Inches of snow had also fallen over it, so it was impossible to tell whether or not the ground was icy.

Jammers were slipping and sliding all over the place, and it was chaos.

"Dad, how come you're not slipping?" Snickety asked, ramming into his side. "I can't even stand up!" Suddenly, his paws slipped. "Woah - !"

Medieval caught his son just in time. "Careful there, Snickety!"

Snickety laughed slightly. Then he paused. "Seriously, though, Dad - why aren't you slipping and sliding like the rest of us?"

Medieval shrugged. He slowly moved his paw on the icy ground. "I honestly don't know…"

Suddenly, the ground lurched and he was spinning in slow circles on the ice.

"Looks like...I can't stand on ice," Medieval said, shaking the snow out of his fur.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Snowflake Frozenartist was looking through the displays of clothes at Jam Mart Clothing. A new jacket would be needed as the weather continued to get colder.

She suddenly felt someone walk next to her.

"Hey, there, Miss! Are you looking for anything in specific?"

Snowflake turned, and to her surprise, another coyote was smiling at her.

"Oh, I'm just looking for a new holiday sweater, but I can't decide on what color," she said. "I'm Snowflake Frozenartist."

The coyote smiled. "Nice to meet you, Snowflake! I'm Apprentice Sunnyruler. You said you couldn't decide on what color to buy?"

"No, I couldn't."

"Well, then, I'll help you choose!"

After about ten minutes of choosing and trying on different Jamaaliday sweaters, they finally decided on the light blue one with a light orange pattern. It matched perfectly well with Snowflake's fur and eyes.

Snowflake smiled. "Thanks, Apprentice! I really appreciate your help! I couldn't've been able to decide on my own."

Apprentice beamed. "Well, I always love to help others, and - "

"Snowflake, who is this?"

Awesome Snowylight had appeared next to the two. He had a puzzled look on his face, and he was suspiciously glancing at Apprentice.

"Oh! I'm Apprentice Sunnyruler," Apprentice said, introducing himself. "I didn't mean to, um - "

"That's okay, we should...go now," Awesome said quickly. "Come on, Snowflake, let's go." He dragged her out of Jam Mart Clothing.

As Snowflake walked back outside, she snuck a glance back at Apprentice, and he smiled. Sure, she loved Awesome, but there was something in Apprentice's eyes she couldn't explain. Something that drew her to him.

 _No,_ thought Snowflake, _I will hang out with Apprentice from time to time, but I love Awesome. Not him._

* * *

Crashing woke up, only to be driven down immediately by a wave of dizziness. He waited until it subsided before sitting.

Why did he feel so horrible?

Then he remembered - he was sick. There were things to finish, things to complete, but he knew Fauna would skin him alive if she found out.

A cough started to rise from his throat. Crashing _hated_ being sick. It meant no snow, no playing, no fun, no nothing. Just lying in bed, waiting for your body to defend against the bad little things inside of you. He wondered what the Jamaaliday gift was and yawned.

Crashing suddenly heard several loud yells from outside. He slowly turned his head to look out the window.

A group of Jammers were struggling to stand. They kept falling over and over again. The ground must've frozen over, Crashing thought.

He laid back down in bed. Maybe it wasn't so bad to be sick after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, we're getting somewhere...eh. Probably won't be anything...or will it?


	10. Socked Paws (Dec 10th)

**A/N:** I just realized these chapters are getting shorter and shorter and I've forgotten about other things. Eh. It can't be the worst.

* * *

Quick Jellyscout ripped open his Jamaaliday Gift, somehow managing not to slip on the ice that was still under him.

"Hey! It's a pair of candy cane socks!" he said. "I love these, even if they look awkward on wolves."

Suddenly, someone rammed into his side. Quick was nearly crushed against the side of the Diamond Shop for a split second before he realized who had pushed him.

"Organized, why did you push me?" Quick whined.

"Well, _sorry,_ I didn't mean to!" Organized said, standing back up. "It's the ice, blame it on that!"

"You were the one who slammed into me!"

"It's not my fault I can't stand on ice!"

"Then learn how to, you son of a phantom - "

Rushing has suddenly teleported next to them. "Quick, did you just call your brother a son of a phantom?"

Quick looked down. "Sorry, Dad," he mumbled.

"Apologize to your brother, not me," Rushing sighed before walking away. "Honestly, I almost got exiled a few days ago and now you're arguing again. Won't you two just get along?" His paws crunched in the snow.

Then he slipped, his candy cane socks falling on his ears.

* * *

Crashing was still sick when Fauna came back with the Jamaaliday Gifts.

"Hey, I got your gifts!" Fauna said, dropping a box on the blankets. "Open it! I know you'll love it…"

Crashing sighed and slowly opened his gift.

It was a pair of red candy cane socks.

"These will come in handy, I guess," he said, putting them on. "Now all my paws feel cozy…" He smiled.

Fauna chuckled. "You have to stay warm to get better, that's for sure!"

Crashing smiled once more before coughing again. "If that's true, then I'll go back to sleep. Tell me if I snore or not, 'cause I don't know."

Before Fauna had a chance to respond, Crashing had climbed under the blankets and fallen asleep.

* * *

The Jellyscout and Cleverivy family had decided to go ice skating together. They went inside the ice skating rink, slipping and sliding all over the place, trying to regain their balance.

"This is hard," Gallant griped as he got up after falling the fifth time. "Like, really hard."

Rosy Cleverivy skated over. "Well, it's easy once you get the hang of it!"

"I think so too," Rushing agreed. "Just don't think of falling over, and it'll work. Try it, son - I know you can do it!"

Gallant inhaled and took a small step forward. Then he took another step, then another.

"Hey, you're right, Rosy," he said, smiling. "This isn't too bad!"

Then his feet slipped and was sent tumbling down to the ice again.

"Well, a slip is a slip. A slip of paper, how about that?" Gallant muttered before laughing.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Major Modernstone clicked through the computer. Rosy Cleverivy had an A. Velvet Amusingscholar had an A. Gallant Jellyscout had an A as well. Tranquil and Ocean both had an A- in his class. Ember and a few other students had a C-.

 _At least the lowest grade isn't an I, or Incomplete,_ Major thought to himself.

He closed the tabs and turned off the computer. He walked outside of his den for a moment, feeling the cold breeze fly through him. Smiling, he walked further and further, into the snow, free of any paperwork or grading, free of -

He suddenly lost control of where he was going. His feet slipped and slid this way and that, all over the place. He couldn't stop himself.

"Woah - !"

Major ended up stuck in the middle of snow bank, all squished up, unable to free himself.

He sighed. This was going to be a much more frustrating day that he figured it would be.

* * *

Gallant was taking off his ice skates. He put them inside the bag and put on his candy cane socks.

"Gallant…?" Organized asked, "Why do you even like ice skating? You can't skate. You can't stand up. You can't do anything."

Gallant suddenly stood up. _Oh, really?_ "I can, too, ice skate," he growled. "Even if you don't think I can, I think it's fun, and I can do it."

"No, you can't," Organized said. "Maybe next time we'll just leave you behind at our den before we go ice skating, since you're just a waste of time here, I guess - "

"I'm not a waste of time! I love ice skating, and even if I can't do it, I think it's fun! If I want to ice skate, I will!" Gallant said. He socked his brother in the arm with his candy cane socks.

And that kind of sock hurts the most.


	11. Edgy Hedges (Dec 11th)

Wild Perfectjammer didn't know what to do.

"Where in the name of Jamaa am I going to put this?" he sighed to himself. He pushed the spiral hedge here. _No._ Then there. _No, not there, either…_

He plopped down onto his bottom, shaking his head. One of his least favorite Jamaaliday Gifts was the Jamaaliday spiral hedge. He had no idea where to put it. One spot made it look too big. One spot too small. Another spot made it look too bright or too swirly.

Of course, he could always recycle it or trade it, but he wasn't sure how many gems he could fetch up, or who would want another one of these. There was almost no place to put them besides back into some repository.

 _I honestly don't know why anyone likes these,_ thought Wild. _I mean, just about the only thing you can do is gawk at how awkward they look._

He decided not to think about it now. Standing back up, he brushed the snow off his parka and dashed back off into Jamaa Township, hoping for something to do.

* * *

Lucky Rainymoon made a face.

"Come on, Lucky," Magical, her mother, said. "What do you mean you don't like these?"

"They look just like unicorns," Swaggy said.

"Unicorns don't have spiral horns, and besides, this looks more like a messed up deer antler instead of a hedge," Lucky griped. She sighed. She had never liked Jamaaliday hedges - any of them - and probably, she thought, never will.

Swaggy laughed slightly. "There's nothing that can change your opinions, is there?"

"No. Well, at least not for Jamaaliday hedges, especially the spiral ones. Can I go play with Rosy now?"

"Sure, sweetie. Just be back in a few hours."

Lucky smiled and ran off to her friend.

* * *

Rosy Cleverivy was helping with shoveling the sidewalk when Lucky came over.

"Hey, Rosy, want to make a Masterpiece with me?" she asked.

Rosy glanced at the few feet of unshoveled sidewalk left. "Sure," she said. "But I'll have to ask my mom first."

She darted back into her den and returned seconds later with a huge smile on her face.

"My mom says I can, but I'll have to finish shoveling the rest of this sidewalk first," she said, picking up the shovel again. "After all, it's only a few feet."

Lucky pushed away some of the snow with her ears. "I'll help you!"

Less than a minute later, the sidewalk was all clear of any snow.

"I'll let my mom know we're leaving now!" Rosy said, excited. "Let's go!"

* * *

Rosy and Lucky burst into the Art Studio together.

"I felt like using my Masterpiece Token today," Lucky said, bringing it out. "But I don't know what to draw."

Rosy thought for a moment. "Maybe you could draw something about today's Jamaaliday gift," she suggested. "About how stupid it looks."

Lucky giggled. "My dad said it looked like a unicorn."

"My mom said it looked like a confused snake that got stuck in a bush," Rosy said.

Both of them laughed.

"Hey! I know! We can draw a snake that thinks the spiral hedge is its mother!" Lucky said suddenly. "That would be _really_ funny!"

Rosy laughed. "Yeah! We should do that!"

They each picked up their pencils and started to scribble shapes. One spiral for the hedge, another for the snake, and piles of snow. They drew tiles under the hedge and the snake, and the ice Mira Statue in the background.

After they were finished drawing, Rosy and Lucky started to add in the paint. They colored the snake a brownish-green, wearing a Jamaaliday scarf and a furry hat. They painted in the lights and the ribbons on the spiral hedge. They added details to the Mira Statue in the background, shading in everything. Lastly, they added a speech bubble on top of the snake, writing in a few words.

"All done," Rosy said, smiling. "I think this will get approved!"

"I hope so," Lucky replied. "Let's buy it now!"

* * *

Rosy yawned as she went back into her den. It had just gotten dark outside.

"So, what did you and Lucky do?" Forest asked. She was arranging a centerpiece on the table.

"Oh, we made a Masterpiece together," said Rosy. "Lucky wanted to use her Masterpiece Token."

"What'd you draw?" Snickety squeaked.

"Something about the spiral hedge today. A snake thinks that the hedge is its mother."

That caused everyone to laugh.

"Really? I guess snakes don't really use common sense," Prancing said.

Everyone laughed hysterically.

* * *

 **A/N:** You can probably guess that I'm not really a fan of those spiral hedges. They're cool, but there's almost no place to put them in any den oops


	12. Praetermisissent (Dec 12th)

_Not Apprentice. Awesome. It's Awesome Snowylight, not Apprentice Sunnyruler. You're not going to think about Apprentice anymore. No, no, no._

But no matter how hard she tried, Snowflake couldn't erase the image of Apprentice's smile from her mind. She felt guilty for thinking about Apprentice while she was supposed to be loving Awesome.

 _You have to see him again._

 _But I can't. That's cheating._

 _Talking to another Jammer isn't cheating._

Snowflake sighed, trying to shut out the voice. She couldn't just leave Awesome. But she couldn't not see Apprentice again.

"What am I going to do….?" she whispered to herself. "I don't know what to do now…"

"Do what?"

Snowflake spun around in surprise. Awesome was behind her, a concerned look on his face.

"Uh...nothing," Snowflake mumbled. "I just, er...didn't know what to get you for a Jamaaliday present, that's all."

Awesome smiled. "Hey, you don't have to get me anything, you know that."

"But…" Snowflake faked a laugh. "I have to."

"No, you don't. It's fine if you can't think of anything. Anything from you is special."

Snowflake sighed again. "I guess so, then."

But she really wanted to say "Even a break-up?"

* * *

Today, the class was presenting their projects that Major had assigned for them to do over the weekend. They were required to take a photo of some place in Jamaa and explain its significance.

Major scribbled something down in his grading book. "Okay, Ember, you're up next," he said.

Ember Spiritmeadow shuffled up to the front of the class and set her photograph onto the whiteboard. It showed a male Jammer and a female Jammer - obviously drawn by a pen - staring at each other with a slice of cake in the middle. It seemed to have been taken at Crystal Sands.

The class giggled.

"So, uh...Ember, what is this?" Major asked.

"It's a cake," Ember explained.

Major raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"...it's by the ocean," Ember continued.

The entire class erupted into hysterical laughter.

Major sighed. _Useless._ "Ember, thank you, but what is the theme of this photo you've taken?"

Ember shrugged. "When two Jammers love each other - "

"No, not that. Tell me why there is a cake by the ocean and why there are two Jammers staring at each other."

"There's a cake by the ocean because I like that song," Ember said as if it was obvious.

All the students laughed again.

"Ember...is this even relevant?" Major asked.

"Yeah. I can have favorites," Ember said.

Major shook his head as he scribbled another note into his grading book, ready to put them onto the computer later. "Thank you, Ember, now please - sit down."

Ember briskly walked back to her desk and sat down, bringing her photograph with her. She stuffed in in her folder and breathed out.

"Okay. Who's next?" Major asked his class.

Honest Fairjoy stood up. "I'm going next," she said.

Major smiled. "Alright. Let's see what you have with you."

* * *

Medieval scratched at the hard snow, uncovering the ice. At least the snow had partly frozen, so now it wasn't easy to slip unless it was somehow removed from on top of the ice.

The school bell suddenly rang, and he glanced at the large door, waiting for Rosy and Prancing to come out. Several students leaped out of the building in an instant to their parents or straight to their dens, but Rosy and Prancing took a while longer.

Minutes later, Rosy and Prancing stepped out of the school, other Jammers shoving past them. They beamed when they saw Medieval waiting for them.

The two foxes rushed to their father's side.

"Hey, Dad!" Rosy said, smiling.

"Hey, there, you two," Medieval replied. "What did you do it school today?"

Rosy shrugged. "We presented our projects in Period 1 and reviewed our math test in Period 4," she said.

"We began a new music piece in band today," said Prancing.

Medieval laughed. "Really? What is it called?"

Prancing thought for a moment. " _An Hour of Darkness._ "

"We started a new piece in orchestra, too," Rosy said. "It's called... _Indefinitus._ "

"Sounds...ancient," Medieval said, searching for the right word. "Of course, I've never heard an ancient-sounding piece before. Maybe more mystical than ancient?"

" _Indefinitus_ is hard," Rosy said, sighing. "But I know I'll get it sooner or later."

Medieval smiled. "You always do," he said to his daughter. "Now, let's go pick up Snickety and head back home!"

He spun around, forgetting about the uncovered patch of slippery ice, and slipped.


	13. Scammers and a Fake Blizzard (Dec 13th)

A scowl appeared on her face.

"This is outrageous," Notable Spiritmeadow snarled. She glared at the scammer. "You scammed and now - "

"Notable, he realized what he did wrong long before he got reported, and he gave that elf tail thing back," Incredible argued. "Don't suspend him. He's resolved it on his own!"

"But what I did was so wrong," the eagle said sadly. "Even if I did give back the beta elf tail, I'll never be able to cover up what I did."

Notable harrumphed. "Exactly, Incredible," she said sharply. "He needs to know that what he did was wrong and - "

"I don't understand why he _should_ be suspended if he has already resolved the issue on his own," barked Incredible. "It's like writing down the wrong thing with a pencil. Instead of asking someone for a new piece of paper, why don't you just erase whatever you wrote incorrectly and fix it on your own?"

Notable scowled again. "He scammed, and even if he gave back the item, he still left a painful memory in someone's life," she argued. "He did an action wrong - "

"And he was kind enough to give up his ways and return the item," Incredible interrupted. "I'm releasing him right now." He stepped closer to the cage and started to lift the latch.

A sudden flash of pain shot through his tail, causing him to stumble backward.

"Yeow!" Incredible yelped. "Notable, why did you bite me?"

"Don't you _dare_ release him or - "

"Or what?"

"Let me finish talking before you ask the questions!" snapped Notable. "If you dare release him, I may as well suspend you as well. I'll find this eagle anyway."

"Moderators can't be suspended."

"Scammers can."

"I'm not a scammer. I've never committed any sort of crime."

"That's not what I meant!"

" _Then what did you mean?!_ "

The two suddenly launched into yet another pointless argument. Both arctic wolves became oblivious of the cage, left unattended. The eagle trapped inside slowly reached out and moved the latch, unlocking the cage, and quickly flew away.

Minutes later, Notable and Incredible were still arguing.

"I'm going to release him now, and there is _nothing_ you can do about it," Incredible growled. He spun around, only to stand there in shock.

"I win!" Incredible said, laughing triumphantly. "He's free! You lose!"

Notable clenched her teeth and let out a long growl. "Oh, sure, he's free," she snarled, "but not for long. I'll find him, and that...is that."

* * *

Snickety Cleverivy peered out the window of his classroom and winced.

A strong wind was forcefully blowing snow off the roof, swirling it all through the air and making it look like a blizzard. Half the snow had melted on the ground this morning, so this was just plain irony, he thought.

He turned his attention back to his teacher, Enchanted Windyclaw.

They were learning about the history of the Alphas.

"Snickety? Do you remember the name of the tiger Alpha?" Enchanted asked.

Snickety thought for a moment. "Sir Gilbert," he answered. "Or at least, I think so."

"That's exactly right," Enchanted said, smiling. "Now, who knows that name of the fox Alpha?"

As his teacher called on more students, Snickety peeked at the window again. The wind had died down slightly, but he knew it would stop soon.

He only hoped it wouldn't rise that much when it was dismissal time. Clutching his Jamaaliday scarf in his paws, he couldn't imagine it getting blown away.


	14. Snowflake (Dec 14)

**A/N:** So...here's a little part based on the song _Sofia_ by Alvaro Soler. No, I don't know Spanish, but his voice and music is so awesome, so :D here you go.

I've also decided not to include the word _mira_ (look/watch) too much because when it comes to Animal Jam, it's probably easily confused with the name Mira...you know, the gray heron. The guardian of Jamaa.

* * *

Snowflake gulped.

She couldn't believe what she had just done. She had run into Apprentice this morning, and one thing led to another, and now…

She had _cheated._ On Awesome.

It had seemed fine when she had done it, but now she didn't know what to do. If Awesome found out, she would be in big trouble. He always found out about everything sooner or later. Plants don't stay seeds forever.

"What...what should I say when he gets back…?" Snowflake whispered to herself. "What should I do?"

Then it came to her. Don't do anything, don't say anything, don't hint at anything. Awesome can't ever find out if I do it that way, thought Snowflake. He'll never have to know about anything that happened. _If I simply don't tell him, it won't be a problem._

* * *

Apprentice strolled past Jam Mart Clothing and walked for a few more minutes until he reached the Mira Statue. He brushed some of the snow off her icy feet. He always felt good when Mira was around.

"Apprentice?" someone said. Their voice was kind, but Apprentice could catch the edge of an unhappy tone.

"Uh...Awesome? Hey, what's up?" Apprentice said, his voice trembling. _Mira, please don't let him find out. Please…_

"I heard you're having a little fun with Snowflake, right?"

Apprentice slowly turned around, trying to keep his composure. "I - I didn't mean to, uh...make it seem like anything, sorry. I was just talking to her and helping her out with something today - "

That was when he noticed the expression of pure bewilderment on Awesome's face.

"What do you mean, 'today'?" Awesome asked.

Apprentice sighed. "Well, uh, we ran into each other or something, and uh - we did a little something together, but it wasn't really anything to - "

"A…'little something'? Could you tell me what that was?" Awesome was clearly getting suspicious now.

Apprentice froze. His pulse quickened. "It wasn't anything. I just talked to her and we hung out and - I mean, all we did was - "

"You know what? I have had just about _enough_ of you, and it has only been two days," Awesome growled, the fur on his back rising. "You are causing Snowflake - _my_ Snowflake - to feel stuck in the middle, and now _this?_ Is that how you'll get her to take sides with you?"

Apprentice shook his head. "No, no, that's not what I meant! We weren't doing anything like that - "

But Awesome had already run off.

* * *

"Snowflake."

Snowflake jumped up from what she had been working on and turned to face Awesome, glaring at her with fury in his eyes.

"Hey, Awesome," Snowflake said, but she already knew what had happened. _He's found out. How has he already found out?_ "What, um...have you been up to?"

Awesome sighed. He went over to the table, leaned on it, and scowled.

"Let me tell you something," he said. "When I was young, I dreamed. And you better believe that I dreamed _a lot_. And you know what? I didn't worry about any impositions in the way. There wasn't any worry in my heart. But now - " He sighed again. "All those days are fading away. Nothing's left, _nada._ "

Snowflake gulped. _Maybe he hasn't found out yet?_ "What do you mean?"

There was a pause, filled with silence.

Then Awesome slammed his paw into the wood of the den floor, cracking it. "I wanted you so much before, but now I only see you. I see you as nothing now. I don't want you anymore. How could you do this to me, Snowflake?" He glanced at her with disbelief in his eyes.

Snowflake couldn't believe it. Awesome had found out. Her heart started pounding. "Look, Awesome," she said, "I didn't mean that - "

"If Apprentice is the one you want, then I'll go on without you!" Awesome shouted. "I don't need that innocent look on your face with me anymore! _¡Sigo sin tu mirada!_ "

Snowflake then realizes it. If she didn't want to be with Awesome anymore, why should she? Her face twisted into a scowl. "We were happy before, and we still could be. You're just the one who decided to - "

" _Dices que eramos felices..._ well, it's all over now! _¡Todo ya pasó!_ You were also the one who decided to cheat!"

"If you don't care about me anymore, why should I want you?!"

"I get it now," Awesome growled. "Apprentice makes you fly, he makes you dream, he makes you happy. All I did was break your wings, right?"

Snowflake exhaled. She never knew Awesome could be so irritating. " _Sì._ " She didn't know what else to say.

"How can I trust that? I don't believe you anymore. Nothing that you say. You said you and Apprentice did nothing. _How was that nothing?_ "

"If it was everything then it was nothing, too - "

"Look, Snowflake…" Awesome snarled, " _¿Comó te mira?_ In what way does he look at you? If he's not the right Jammer - "

Snowflake let a growl escape from her throat. "He's better than you!"

"Why haven't you been telling me the truth?!"

"Because I don't have to tell you the truth!"

Awesome's scowled deepened and silence hung in the air for what seemed like forever.

"I'm leaving now," he said quietly. "I'm leaving right now."

He stormed out the door, spinning around one last time.

"And remember! _¡Sin tu mirada!_ "

* * *

Medieval was walking through Jamaa Township, carefully avoiding all the ice, until Awesome Snowylight stormed past him.

"Awesome!" he called, confused. "What's with the mood?"

Awesome stopped in his tracks. He turned his head.

" _Adiós,_ " he said quietly, tears filling his eyes. Then he slowly turned away and slunk off.

Medieval was confused. He didn't know what "adiós" meant, but it sounded familiar - like he'd heard it before. He continued his way to pick up the Jamaaliday Gifts, wondering why Snowflake wasn't with Awesome.

But now all he could think of was Forest's smile.


	15. Duped? - Part I (Dec 15th)

**A/N:** Hey, everyone -

If you are looking for black candy cane socks, _do not even think about trading for them right now._ They were recently duplicated and are now spread throughout Animal Jam. If you end up with any duped socks in your inventory, they will eventually disappear (if they are duped, which is most likely). AJHQ has already removed many of the duped socks, but there still are some lingering here and there.

 **So, do** _ **not**_ **trade for black candy cane socks. In fact, don't even trade for items that could possibly be duped. Until the duped socks have been cleared, only then is it safe.**

* * *

"Did you hear about the candy cane socks? Someone else has another pair!"

So, thought Rosy, those black candy cane socks have apparently been duped. But how?

It didn't make any sense to her. How could someone just "duplicate" an item? How would they do that? They couldn't just make another one, could they? Where would they get the materials? How did they get it to be registered as a real item, and how do the moderators just get rid of it in an instant?

Every last detail fought against logic, and as Rosy listened to her class babble on and on, she started to wonder if it wasn't the moderators who were in charge. Not Mister and Mrs. Spiritmeadow. Not Ember or Muddy…

 _Wow, Ember as a moderator? Jamaa would collapse,_ Rosy thought. _I sure hope her parents aren't going to give the moderator position to her._

Rosy took her mind off the Spiritmeadow family and glanced around her second period classroom. Christmas decorations and science posters hung all around the walls. Lab stations with cabinets and sinks were everywhere as well. Every science classroom looks like this, and it's so boring, Rosy thought, sighing.

 _But isn't that the same as thinking non-duped candy cane socks are boring?_

Rosy scowled. The bell rang, and Jammers rushed to their seats. As her teacher began the lesson for the day, Rosy figured that if anything was to be duped, the entire item - duped or not - should be banned from Jamaa.

That was better than trying to figure out which ones were duped and which weren't.

* * *

He wasn't sure if this was the right way to stop the chaos in a classroom - sitting there, feeling anger slowly rising inside of him, trying to figure out if those socks were duped or not from several feet away.

"I want to see!" DJ Fireygem shouted, poking his beak and flippers through the crowd of students around a desk.

"Can I wear them?" Princess Arcticflower pleaded. "Please?"

Major covered his ears. He _hated_ yelling at his students, and he surely didn't want to do it now.

Jumping Coolpride squished himself between other Jammers and asked, in a loud voice, "Can I look at them?"

The class erupted into even more chaos.

Major scowled. He had absolutely _enough._

" _Quiet!_ " he shouted. " _This is re_ donk _ulous!_ "

All his students were suddenly quiet. They froze, staring at him in horror. Major _hated_ it when undefined or duped items got in the way.

Major exhaled, trying to calm himself down.

"That is enough," he said sharply and firmly. "Wretched, hand over those black socks now. Take them off your feet and _hand them over._ "

Wretched Loopymaster's expression turned from happy to irritated and annoyed. "But they're _my_ socks!" he complained.

"I have to check if they're duped. That's my job now," Major growled. He could feel the annoyance and anger rising within him again.

"Mister Modernstone - "

"Don't. Just _don't,_ " Major snapped. "Get over here now - with the socks - or otherwise, I'm going to send you down to the office and _if those socks are duped,_ getting exiled will be your early Jamaaliday present. If you give them to me right now, you'll at least get away clean."

"They're not duped!" Wretched argued, a scowl appearing on his face. "What makes you think they're duped?"

"I don't know how you could have possibly afforded those - "

"Maybe I can!" Wretched snarled.

Major paused and took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper again. "I will not be hearing any more of you, Wretched. Hand over the socks _now._ If they're truly not duped, I'll give them back."

Wretched opened his mouth to say something, but another student nudged him.

"Just hand 'em over," she said. "I've had enough of this."

Wretched sighed. He reluctantly took off his black candy cane socks and shuffled over, dropping them on Major's desk.

Major stuffed them in the confiscation box, ready to turn them in to the moderators later. He told everyone to sit down, and they did as he said. Nobody said a word as they got their homework out from last night.

* * *

Rosy stumbled back into her den. Forest was in the kitchen with Snickety. The two were making a gingerbread mixture in a large bowl.

"Hey, Mom, I'm back," Rosy mumbled. She dropped her backpack onto the ground next to the door, hitting the ground with a light _thunk._ "You know, I don't think I ever want to go back to school until this whole sock duping deal is over. Just talking about it gives me a headache."

Snickety shrugged. "But black socks are cool," he said. "I mean, the duping part isn't. You know what I do mean, though."

Rosy nodded. "They seem okay, but they don't seem to go with anything, you know? Not one item seems to have the right color. The black is too dark, the white is too bright. Not even the black long rare spiked collar could go with it. So, really - what's the hype?"

"Well, when Jammers know that they can get an item they want from a rarer item," Forest said, shaping the gingerbread for baking, "they'll stop at nothing to get it."

"But why dupe things?" Rosy asked, making her way to the table and sitting down. "It doesn't make any sense. How _can_ people duplicate items? It's not as easy as being under the same sun. I think it's more difficult than a fox trying to be an octopus."

Forest sighed. "I don't know," she responded quietly. "With so many rares in the trading system and probably hundreds of duped socks, it's going to take at least a few days to resolve."

Then, changing the subject, Snickety piped up. "Wanna help us make gingerbread, Rosy?"

Rosy smiled. "Sure. I'll have to wash my paws first." She grabbed her backpack and skipped up the stairs to her room, glad to get away from the socks subject.

As she dropped her backpack onto the bed she shared with Prancing, Rosy decided to put on her candy cane socks - orange, of course. She opened her drawer where she kept all her leg items.

And, to her horror, nestled between a set of elf bracelets and a set of cozy shoes - where her orange socks were supposed to be - was a pair of black candy cane socks.

* * *

She must have screamed because Prancing and Medieval suddenly came rushing up the stairs. They burst through the door and stood there, mouths agape, staring at the candy cane socks.

There was a pause.

"Rosy, you know what duping can do to us!" Prancing shouted. "You're not supposed to dupe items! That's against the rules of Jamaa!"

"I didn't dupe anything!" Rosy shot back. "I swear I put my orange socks here and when I checked on them now, I found these black ones!" Rosy picked them up. They felt like any normal pair of socks and when she looked inside them, her username, DailyMuse, was still written right where she'd written it.

She dropped the socks and sat down on the rug of her room.

"You know what?" she said quietly and mystically, "I'm just going to recycle these and forget that this whole thing ever happened."

Rosy was halfway through the process when Forest and Snickety dashed up the stairs and burst into the room as well. They stared all wide-eyed at the black socks that Rosy was holding.

"Where in the actual phantom did she get those?" Medieval said softly to Forest.

"I don't know…" Forest replied. "I...I'm seriously confused."

Rosy stuffed the gems she'd received from recycling the item into her gem inventory and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's dealt with now," she said. "Now, I'm going to wash my paws and help make the gingerbread. The black socks were never there...they were never there, they never happened...I did not dupe anything, and that was just a random gift that got sent to the wrong person…"


	16. Duped? - Part II (Dec 16th)

"Rosy, wake up."

Rosy jolted awake, sitting up in bed. She turned to face Prancing, who had been trying to wake her up.

"Good thing you're not a sound sleeper," Prancing mumbled, "or I'd never be able to wake you up. Mom's making breakfast and you'd better get ready."

Rosy rolled her eyes. She slid off the bed and opened her drawer, looking for her clothes. Seconds later, she pulled out her red Jamaaliday sweater and put it on, closing the drawer and stepping away.

That was when her paw hit something.

She spun around. Prancing was on the other side of the bed and she didn't seem to have noticed anything. Rosy glanced down at what seemed to be a blue present. A large white tag was hanging off the green bow, and it said in large black letters:

 _[?] has recovered your lost items!_

That's weird, thought Rosy. She glanced at the calendar. It was only December 16th, not December 25th. It wasn't time for presents yet, was it? She didn't remember getting scammed. She also thought that once an item was lost, it was lost. Not one Jammer had openly said they had gotten a lost item back.

Rosy shrugged and slowly undid the ribbon on the top. She lifted the top of the box and saw something striped inside. Reaching a paw inside the box, it felt awfully familiar as she brought it out.

Her heart nearly stopped.

It was a pair of black candy cane socks.

Rosy sat there, frozen, unable to move. She had recycled them. Why were they back?

Prancing gasped from around the corner of the bed.

"Wait, _what?!_ " she screeched. Then she glared at her sister. " _Rosy, did you -_ "

"I didn't!" Rosy shouted back, her heart pounding like crazy. She dropped the black socks onto the ground. "I _swear!_ "

Medieval and Forest were inside the room in an instant, Snickety following soon after. All three stopped dead when they saw the black candy cane socks.

"...where'd ya get those?!" Snickety cried, finally breaking what seemed like 200 years of silence.

Rosy was just about to say something until Medieval halted her.

"Wait, wait," he said, shaking his head and sighing in bewilderment, "you're telling me that you _recycled these yesterday_ and now they're back with some random person saying they have recovered your lost items? Are you sure you didn't dupe these?"

"My orange socks turned black yesterday, and now they're back!" Rosy said. "I don't know what this is about. I don't know how to dupe things. I don't even want black socks! Why am I getting these?"

"You know, why don't we just...talk to Incredible and Notable about this?" Forest said quietly. "They've got to have an answer to these socks."

"I thought it was impossible to tell the difference between duped and real items," Prancing pointed out. "Moderators probably aren't that much help when it comes to duplication problems."

Forest sighed and nodded. "I don't even understand duping. I'm not even sure what the word 'dupe' is supposed to mean."

"I think it's supposed to mean something about deceiving, lying, or cheating," Medieval answered.

"But what does that have to do with duplicating?"

"I don't know. Let's just figure this out."

* * *

Incredible put down his magnifying glass and sighed.

"These are perfectly normal," he said. "There's nothing strange about them. They're just like any normal socks. So you saw a box inside your room with the words 'recovered lost items' even after you rightfully recycled them the day before?"

Rosy nodded. "Yeah, that's what I saw," she said. "I have the box with me."

"Can I see it?"

Forest pulled it out of her backpack. "Here it is," she said, setting it on the counter.

Incredible spent the next few minutes inspecting it.

"Nothing strange about it, either," he said. "What I don't understand is why recycling counts as a losing an item. I could explain why you have the socks, but I can't seem to explain anything else."

"Why did I get black socks?" Rosy asked.

Incredible shrugged. "Were they orange before?"

"Yes."

"Maybe it has to do something with that. Other Jammers reported their orange socks suddenly turning black, but we still don't know why it's only the orange ones."

* * *

Rosy sighed and shook the snow off her paws. She then sat down on a sofa. The socks had been confirmed to _not_ be duped, which meant she had to keep them. _Maybe I'll give them to Gallant as a Jamaaliday present,_ she thought.

Gallant would freak out, though.

"Mom, I don't know what to do," Rosy groaned as the rest of her family stepped into the den. "I don't understand why I got these socks and why all the orange ones are turning black."

"Me neither, Rosy," Forest said as she sat down next to her daughter. "But don't worry. The moderators are working on fixing it."

"What if the orange ones were meant to be black? What if they aren't duped?"

"Oh, I don't understand this either. I mean, I don't think they're duped. Mine are orange, too, and mine haven't turned black."

"But how can people even dupe things at all?"

"I wish I knew," Forest sighed. "But I guess we don't."

Rosy glanced down and froze in horror.

"Mom…?" she said. "Mom, look at your socks. Right now."

Forest looked confused. "What's up with them?"

"They're...black."

Forest glanced down. She froze in horror as well.

Her supposed-to-be-orange candy cane socks were now black candy cane socks. The light orange stripes had turned into inky black stripes, the same color of the black ones that Rosy had.

"Dear Mira. What?!" Forest shouted in confusion.

* * *

As Rosy made her way back to the Spiritmeadow family, she saw Honest Fairjoy walking down the street. She was wearing orange candy cane socks, and they hadn't turned any sort of other color yet.

"Hey! Honest!" Rosy called, dashing over.

Honest stopped walking and turned to face Rosy.

"What's up?" she said.

Rosy tried to catch her breath. "I know I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but my candy cane socks turned black yesterday, and they were orange before." She glanced down at Honest's socks. "Why haven't yours turned black yet?"

Honest shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe mine just aren't duped," she said.

"Could you come with me to the moderators and help figure this out?"

"Sure," Honest replied. "I've got all the time in the world."

* * *

Incredible shook his head. He couldn't believe what was happening. "You're saying, your socks turned black, and then your mother's turned black as well?"

"Yes," Rosy said, nodding. "Yes. They were orange before and then they turned black. I'm wondering, if Honest's are also orange, how come hers haven't turned black yet?"

Incredible glanced back and forth at the three pairs of socks on the counter. "What do you remember doing before you wore these, Rosy?"

"Um...I wrote my username down. I also flipped them inside out and back three times in a row - both of the socks. But my mom didn't flip hers inside out, I'm sure of that."

Incredible tried to process this information. "Honest, did you write your username down?"

"I did." Then there was a gasp. "Mister Spiritmeadow! Look!"

Incredible glanced at Honest's pair of candy cane socks. All three watched in horror and pure bewilderment as the stripes slowly turned from orange to black, cascading down from the top stripe to the bottom one at the heels and toes.

"What in the name of Jamaa?" Incredible said, breaking the silence.

Now, all three pairs of socks looked exactly the same - an inky black against a pearly, bright white. Incredible snatched up the third pair of socks and compared it to the other two. There was no difference - they were exactly the same.

"Wait, so…orange socks will turn black for _what_ reason?" Incredible muttered to himself, setting the socks back down. "Why not...why not pink ones or other colors? I'm sorry, girls, but I think we'll have to figure this out later. May I hold on to these socks for now?"

Rosy and Honest nodded. "Thanks," Rosy said. "Hopefully you can figure this out." She and Honest spun around and started out of the den, but the edge of Honest's tail knocked over one of the pens on the counter - the cap still off. It fell onto Incredible's blue and orange Jamaaliday sweater.

"Oops," Honest said. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay," Incredible said, smiling. He picked up the pen and set it back on the counter.

Suddenly, as he glanced down at his sweater, he realized that a black streak of pen ink had appeared. It crossed from the blue part over the light orange tree pattern.

And, all of a sudden, the orange tree in the middle began to turn black. The dark color spread from the edge of the mark all the way until the edge. Somehow, it didn't do anything to the blue part of his sweater.

Then he remembered something that Rosy and Honest had said.

" _I wrote my username down." "I did, too."_

"Wait!" Incredible called, realization flooding through him. His pulse quickened. He was close to solving it! "What color did you write your username in on the candy cane socks?" _Please say it was black. Please…_

Rosy and Honest stopped in their tracks and walked back into the den. "I used black ink," said Rosy.

"I did as well," Honest added.

"Then that does it!" Incredible said, hopping out of his chair. "You wrote your username in black on the orange colored socks. And since the light orange color is so light, the black spread through all the stripes and turned it all black! That's how the socks are black! That's got to be it!"

Rosy gasped, but then she was fixed in confusion again. "Then what explains how I got the socks back for no reason after I recycled them?"

Just at that moment, a polar bear burst into the den.

"Incredible! My black candy cane socks were scammed days ago. You said you'd return them, and I still haven't gotten them. I'm just wondering if they're coming soon or not?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Then, Rosy, Honest, and Incredible giggled.

"I think," Incredible said, "we just sent them to the wrong person."

* * *

 **A/N:** So it's solved! Congrats, you pixelated animals lol


	17. It's Cold Outside (Dec 17th)

**A/N:** This one is based off "Baby It's Cold Outside" hope you enjoy and don't forget to review :)

* * *

Forest Cleverivy stared out the snowy window at the darkening world and sighed.

Medieval still wasn't back yet. A snowstorm was raging, so that may be the reason. She would rather have him be late but safe instead of on time but frozen. He could, however, be doing something foolish again, which Forest truly hoped wasn't the case.

She snuck a quick glance at the clock.

5:28. About time for dinner.

Walking over to the kitchen, Forest let her mind wander. If Medieval wasn't back from Jamaa Township yet, he might have taken shelter in a nearby building or den, waiting until the storm stopped. If he was somewhere out in the snow, he'd…

Forest didn't want to think about it. She shivered as if she was outside for a moment before starting dinner, the sound of Prancing, Rosy, and Snickety playing together calming her down.

* * *

Medieval shuddered. This storm was a bad one. At least there would be lots of snow afterwards, but if he got snowed in _now,_ inside Jam Mart Furniture, that would sure be a nightmare. It would take days for anyone to get them out, and it was _freezing_ here at night, from what he'd heard.

At least he wasn't alone. Wild Perfectjammer and Noble Jazzyclaw had gotten trapped in here, too. Major Modernstone had left a while earlier, and Medieval prayed to Mira and Zios that his friend was okay out in the storm.

"You know, Medieval," Noble said, slowly making his way around the furniture, "I'm starting to wonder how snow can get on my nerves so badly but also comfort me at the same time during a blizzard."

Medieval laughed as he glanced out at the darkening white outside. "Same. I used to believe that 'snow' stood for 'Surprisingly Nerve-racking Odd Water'."

"When did you find out isn't wasn't like that?" Wild asked, hopping over.

"Never really stopped believing it, but now I know what snow truly is," Medieval responded, pacing around the room. "If we get trapped in here tonight, I think it's going to take a miracle for us to get out the next morning with all this snow."

All three started laughing. Then, Noble changed the subject.

"You know, I'll sure miss Awesome and Snowflake around here," he said sadly. "Those two were pretty nice to have around. I haven't heard from Apprentice in a while, either. You think they're safe now?"

Medieval shrugged. "I hope so." As far as he knew, he'd never see those three again. After the conflict, it would be impossible for them to get along.

* * *

Forest was staring out the window again, sighing.

It was now 8:56, all dark outside, and Medieval still hadn't returned. The snow was still raging on and on. Now she was praying that he wasn't trapped in the snow and he had stayed in Jamaa Township until the storm slackened at least somewhat.

"Mom?" Snickety said, walking over and climbing up next to her. "Do you think Dad's somewhere in the storm?"  
"Dear Mira, I hope not…" Forest said, sighing. "I honestly don't know where he is right now."

"What about Awesome and Snowflake?"

Forest paused. "I don't know," she said quietly.

Snickety snuggled closer as Rosy and Prancing came by. "Why did they leave each other, Mom?" Snickety asked. "I thought they were happy."

"Well…" Forest shrugged. "When two Jammers decide they don't love each other anymore, then...they break away, or break up."

"Will that ever happen to you and Dad?"

"I don't think so," Forest sighed. She desperately wanted to change the subject. Talking about break-ups left her feeling uneasy, knowing that if Medieval was somewhere out in the storm, she'd be alone.

She glanced at the calendar. It was December 17th. Love, a blizzard, and this day…

"You know what? Why don't I tell you about the time your father and I met?" Forest said, smiling. She moved over to the soft, fuzzy rug on the floor of the den and gestured for her three children to move closer.

"It was exactly sixteen years ago, on December 17th. It was getting dark and a huge blizzard - probably bigger than the one outside right now - was raging. I was getting ready to leave a fun party hosted in a huge winter palace den that one of my buddies had. Your dad as there, too, plus many other Jammers who were cleaning up and helping us. At the time, I was still Forest Wingedrose, not Cleverivy yet. Medieval and I knew each other distantly, but I wasn't really interested in him, until that night…"

* * *

 _(Rewind back to December 17th, 2001)_

Forest stepped out of the elevator, walking down to the large doors. She could see the snow roaring outside, but she was late already, and she had to get home. If she froze, she didn't really care.

She reached for her coat but someone stepped in front of her.

It was Medieval Cleverivy, a boy who she'd known for a while.

"Uh...look, I really can't stay, I have to get going," Forest said, trying to move out of the way, but Medieval stopped her from going anywhere. "I have to leave."

"Forest," Medieval said, shaking his head, "it's freezing out there. It's cold. You can't leave."

Forest laughed, but she felt irritated. "This evening's been nice, but...I really have to leave now. It's late."

"Your paws are just like ice," Medieval said, gently touching them. "What's your hurry now with all the snow? If you go out there only wearing a dress, you'll freeze, I'm telling you!"

"My mother will start to worry," Forest said, walking away. "My father will, too. He'll start pacing the floor and might even have the moderators out after me. He could even think you're trying to...you know - "

Medieval hurried after her. "Instead of going now, why can't we listen to the fireplace and stay warm instead of freezing out there? Please, don't hurry. Your eyes are like starlight and your fur looks so swell - what a shame it would be if they were to just freeze and disappear…"

"I have to say no, I'm sorry," Forest sighed, walking closer to the door, only for Medieval to be right behind her tail. "I'd better scurry. I know it's cold, Medieval, but I have to leave now…"

* * *

 _(Return to December 17th, 2017)_

"I knew my sister would start to get suspicious," Forest said, laughing. "I was old enough to be dealing with romance, but I didn't feel like it. Oh, your father was just the kid who nobody really liked or disliked. The one who nobody cared about. I guess I didn't know that he'd become my husband one day…"

Rosy smiled. "What happened next, Mom?"

Forest turned her attention back to her children. "Well, your father was telling me about how there was never such a blizzard before. I didn't quite believe him, because I was sure that wasn't the worst. Truth to be told, now I haven't seen one bigger…"

* * *

 _(Rewind back to December 17th, 2001)_

A part of Forest told her to run for her life, but the other half of her said that she should stay. Something was going to happen. She decided to trust the half that wanted her to stay.

"If you get pneumonia and die, think of my lifelong sorrow," Medieval said sadly. " _Please_ don't go out there. Please."

"I simply must go," Forest said. "The answer is no to staying. I can't stay and that is that. You really have been grand, Medieval - you really, truly, wonderfully have - but don't you see? I can't stay any longer. It's better to leave before the storm gets worse."

"But Forest, it's cold outside - "

"Your welcome has been so much warmer than the fireplace already…" Forest mumbled, however, she could feel a smile crawl into her face. "I've gotta get home."

"There's never been such a blizzard before," Medieval said. "I'm sure of that."

"Really?"

"It's higher than your knees out there!"

"There's bound to be talk tomorrow…" Forest replied. Suddenly, she felt like staying. She felt some sort of sudden connection with Medieval. "You know, maybe it won't do any harm to staying…"

Medieval gasped. "You mean...you really will stay? Until the storm is over, at least?"

Forest chuckled. She knew she had to stay now. "If it means you'll stop pestering me...I guess I can explain to my parents and sister."

* * *

 _(Return to December 17th, 2017)_

"So that's how I got to know your father," Forest said. "Day after day, we talked about that one moment when he convinced a stubborn fox to stay during a blizzard. After a week, we realized we loved each other. After a year...well, things happened, and I'm so glad they did."

Prancing cocked her head. "How high was the snow when you left?"

"About...or, almost a foot. It took me longer than I wanted to get back home, but it was worth it."

"I'm glad you stayed, Mom," Rosy said. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here now with all my friends."

Forest smiled, then glanced at the clock. "It's time for you to go to bed now, you three. If your father returns, I'll wake you up - or you'll find out on your own."

Snickety, Rosy, and Prancing sighed.

"The storm seems to have subsided a bit. I know he'll come back soon."

Her three children nodded. "Goodnight, Mom," they said. Then they disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

Half an hour later, as Forest was staring out the window, she saw something dash down the road and come near the den. She perked up suddenly, making sure it wasn't an intruder, before realizing it was Medieval.

She jumped up and dashed out the door.

"Medieval! You made it back here alive!" squealed Forest.

Medieval laughed. "Of course I would," he said. "I'd never leave you or the children." He dropped a bunch of bags down into the snow and shook the snow out of his fur. "Man, this storm decided to get us, didn't it?"

Forest nodded. "It sure did. Let's go inside, it's cold out here. The kids are asleep, though."

"Wait…" Medieval said. "I got you something."

He dug into the bag and pulled out a small snowflake candle. It had smaller snowflakes littered across it, along with the words _It's Cold Outside_ written in swirly black.

Forest turned it over again and again and she felt a smile creep onto her face. Suddenly, the warmth of Medieval being around no longer made her feel cold.

"Medieval?" she said. "You know what? Maybe it's not so cold outside after all."

"What do you mean?" Medieval asked, confused.

"I think," Forest continued, "that if it was cold, you'd be telling me, 'Forest, it's cold outside'."


	18. The Snow is Melting? (Dec 18th)

**A/N:** Be careful of what you wish for, Jammers...

This is probably going to be the shortest chapter in this December countdown thing lol BUT HEY at least there's something. I'm also a winter fan so no snow in December was actually pretty depressing :( but hey we have it now! Not much to complain about hue hue

* * *

 _No,_ thought Rosy, _no, no, no! There was blizzard last night and now all the snow is almost gone! This can't be happening!_

If all the snow melted suddenly…

Rosy didn't want to think about it at all. There _had_ to be snow every day of December, or it wouldn't be winter anymore!. Sure, there was some right now, but it was barely an inch thick. She could see the grass poking through it. The day had suddenly gotten warmer and now the sun was out. It was still chilly outdoors, but it was slowly getting warmer.

"If there's no snow on the first day of winter, I'll be even more darned than when I found those duped socks," Rosy griped to herself. She scowled and stormed back into her den.

* * *

Crashing Courageousclaw yawned and sat up.

Day after day, he was returning to his old self after being sick for several days. It had never felt better to finally stretch out and go outside for some fresh, cool winter air. As an arctic fox, it wasn't easy for him to get sick, but when he did, he really missed the outdoors.

But he never liked it when the grass was poking through the snow. The sun was blazing, though it was cold.

"Let it snow," he whispered, looking up at the cloudy sky. "Let. It. Snow."

Nothing happened.

"Looks like we're going to need some more convincing than that, hm?" he mumbled before laughing. "Come on, Mira and Zios. Give us some more snow. I know you probably wasted it all last night, but can't you at least cover up all this weird and awkward grass?

* * *

Noble Jazzyclaw moved his paw slightly around the snow. He hadn't even pressed hard until he could feel the rough, frozen grass underneath. The good thing about it was that there was no more ice for him to slip all over. He didn't have to worry about being blind during the winter too often because the snow usually stopped him from slipping everywhere.

The bad thing was, he knew it would be a challenge trying to find out when a blizzard would come again. He had to rely on other Jammers for help, and sometimes, there wasn't another Jammer around to help at all.

He shrugged and slowly turned around, hoping he was going the right way. If he wasn't -

His head hit something hard.

 _That's going to happen,_ he thought before scowling. He felt around for the door and he walked back into his den.

Things were going to take some getting used to.


	19. We Need More Snow! (Dec 19th)

"How come all the snow's melting, Dad?" Rosy asked.

Medieval shrugged and sighed. "I don't want the snow to go, either," he said. "But there's nothing we can do about it, I guess. If the snow wants to leave, it has to leave. I hope it'll return soon, though."

Rosy sighed.

"There's no such thing as winter if there's no snow."

"Of course there isn't. But, hey - it loves to return on the Jamaalidays. Let's just hope it'll visit us again, okay?"

"It's got to come back! The snow's got to return!" Rosy said, rubbing her paw into the snow. "If it don't, I don't know where I'll be."

Medieval smiled sadly. "Guess what? In Crystal Sands, there's never any snow. At all."

Rosy perked up suddenly. "You sure?"  
"I'm sure. They put up fake snow and try to make it look real. But it never works. Those who live down there have probably never seen snow and might never will. Up in Mt. Shiveer, there's always snow. Those who live up there have always seen snow and always will."

Rosy's eyes went wide. "Now I'm actually glad we live here near Jamaa Township and not somewhere else. Weather is perfect here."

"It sure is," Medieval agreed, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Explorer Daringartist clawed at the snow, uncovering the grass. An inch of snow had fallen through the night but had melted in the past hour, leaving the snow barely higher than it was days ago. Clouds had finally decided to cover up the sun, so now the snow wasn't as bright and it wasn't as blinding.

Now he could finally fly over to Jamaa Township and grab his Jamaaliday Gift.

Explorer stepped forward and took off, flying over all the dens and several Jammers. The dens began to get more scattered around and suddenly, he could see buildings. There were more and more until he saw the snowy top of the Alpha Headquarters and the Diamond Shop.

He stopped in front of the Jamaaliday Gift Calendar. Pushing through the cluster of Jammers, he scanned the calendar for the last name Daringartist. There, he saw his name, Explorer, and his wife's name, Countess.

Grabbing the boxes, he took off again, back towards his den. The buildings slowly started getting less and less concentrated together, and dens started to appear.

Soon, he reached his den again, landing on the pathway. He hopped to the door and slowly opened it.

Countess was sitting on the sofa, flipping through a catalog. She looked up from it and saw Explorer standing there.

The two smiled and laughed. Without any words, they opened their presents and found a poinsettia rug on each box. The large red flower with dark green leaves around it went perfectly well for the Jamaalidays.

"I think I know the perfect place to put these…" Countess said quietly, a smile appearing on her face.

Explorer giggled. "Oh, no, you don't…"

The two burst into guffaws and burst out the door.

* * *

Ember Spiritmeadow scowled at Rosy.

"You know what?" she snapped, just as Gallant had walked over. "If you're going to keep doing such things, Rosy, I'm going to report you!"

"I did _not_ ruin your test in math class today!" Rosy shot back. She seemed oblivious to the fact that Gallant was standing right next to her. "You were the one who tried to cheat off me in the first place, and even then, you just ripped up your own test so you could get me in trouble, didn't you?"

Ember shook her head. _This has to work._ "Gallant, you saw her! She ruined my test so I could get a bad grade on it!"

Gallant raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'm pretty sure you ate it. I'm not going to be surprised if you get a stomachache."

"Exactly! I was on the other side of the room when you ripped up your own test!" Rosy said. "How could I have been the one who ruined it?"

Ember had opened her mouth to protest but was stopped by Gallant.

"I'm pretty sure you ate your own test, Ember, and I mean you literally ate it," he said in disgust. "You swallowed it. I saw you do it."

The remark about eating paper already made her stomach lurch. Ember tried not to throw up. "W-w-well…" Her voice was trembling. "You shoved it d-down my throat…"

"Mrs. Happymajor would've seen that, and you know it," Rosy snarled.

"You know what? Come on, Rosy, let's go. Just ignore Ember - she doesn't know what she's doing," Gallant quickly said. He smiled and dragged Rosy away, giving Ember a look of disgust.

Ember stood there, frozen. Her trick hadn't worked. And it was all because of Rosy.

She suddenly doubled over and vomited all over the thin layer of snow.


	20. Let it Snow (Dec 20th)

**A/N:** So today is (or was? lol) the last day of school before winter break. The first day of winter is tomorrow (the best day of the year WOOT) so I'm hoping it'll snow a little more. Remember, I'll be writing this until December 31st, not ending right on the Jamaalidays. Last year I spent winter break in Florida and no snow drove me crazy haha.

And tomorrow...the Jammers' wishes for snow might just come true...but maybe a little too true.

* * *

"Let it snow…" Prancing mumbled to herself. "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…"

She slid through the thin remaining layer of snow and over to the school. Today was the last day of school before winter break, and she was excited. Tomorrow, she'd get to play Jamaaliday Rescue with everyone. It also meant she'd be free for about two weeks - no exams, no quizzes, no tests, no homework, not to mention the fun Jamaalidays on Monday.

Prancing sure hoped it would snow. That was the first time in her life where she'd ever wished for such a cold, bitter form of precipitation. Her sister, Rosy, always thought that snow was the best thing in the world; but it sure didn't seem like it to Prancing.

As she stepped inside the school, she realized that all the teachers were standing in the lobby and singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". They were all wearing Jamaaliday sweaters, candy cane socks, and some sort of Jamaaliday head item. A large cluster of students were crowded around them.

Prancing sighed and slowly squeezed her way through the Jammers. She liked Jamaalidays music, but she knew she had to get to her first period class, or she'd be tardy. She had candy to pass out to her friends and teachers, too.

* * *

During the school day, Major Modernstone received loads of Jamaaliday presents from his students. Some of them were candy canes attached to a card. Some were more complex, wrapped in paper.

Honest Fairjoy had walked over to his desk during the first hour and dropped a strange-shaped box wrapped in yellow wrapping paper in front of him.

"Happy Jamaalidays, Mister Modernstone," she said, and smiled.

Major smiled. "Thank you, Honest," he said. "I'm lucky to have such wonderful students. Happy Jamaalidays to you, too."

Honest beamed and went back to her desk.

Major glanced out the window. No new snow quite yet. He sure hoped there would be some. As he put Honest's present down under his desk along with all the other ones, he wondered if the snow would truly drop by for another visit - or leave altogether.

* * *

In world geography that day, Rosy couldn't look out the window, for that classroom had no windows. She was partly glad - she didn't have to see if the snow was melting or falling.

The bell rang, and all the other students rushed to their seats.

"We have a guest speaker down in the library today," Flora Arcticcloud, the teacher, said. "I want you all to be respectful. Remember, when someone else is speaking, you must give him or her your 100% full attention. All distractions are put away."

Rosy listened to her teacher ramble on and on about rules when a guest speaker was here. She tuned out Flora's voice and sighed.

She tried not to think about the possibility of no snow. Instead, she tried to think about the joy of the Jamaalidays. Giving and receiving. Laughing. Having fun. Just enjoying things as it was.

Then she remembered what Medieval had said:

" _I wouldn't have it any other way."_

So, if people down in Crystal Sands never saw snow and still loved the Jamaalidays as it was, thought Rosy, why couldn't she? Was she too greedy for what she wanted? How come she couldn't accept the weather just like it was?

It's not bad to wish for snow, thought Rosy. _It can't be. Everyone wants snow, don't they?_

 _Let it snow,_ she thought. _Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…_

* * *

A few hours later, in the seventh and last period, everyone was hyped up about today being the last day before winter break. Rosy was staring out the window blankly. A flurry or two had swept up, but it decided to stop.

"Everyone, settle down," Admiral Cottonshadow said. She smiled. "I know it's almost winter break, but we've got the rest of the movie to watch today."

"I wish there was more snow," Rosy said out loud.

Everyone turned to face her.

"Me too, Rosy," Admiral said sadly. "The snow's almost gone. I sure hope more will come."

"There's no such thing as the Jamaalidays with only a little snow," Gallant agreed. "Also, if the ice walls in Jamaaliday Rescue melt, we're not going to be able to play it tomorrow. It's not going to be any fun."

There were murmurs throughout the classroom. Other Jammers seemed to be agreeing with Gallant.

"I know!" Admiral said. "I'll put on Let It Snow for you guys a few times. The snow's gotta come back then, right? That song always makes it come back!"

"Yeah!" Rosy said, jumping up.

The class squealed with delight. Then, they all started talking to their friends again, chatting this way and that. They didn't seem to care too much about the snow - they seemed to be able to enjoy what was going on right now.

Suddenly, music began to play and everyone laughed.

Rosy stared out the window. The sky had gotten cloudy and the snow was no longer blinding. The Jamaalidays were to arrive soon, and snow better arrive with it, Rosy thought. " _The weather outside is frightful / But the fire is so delightful / And since we've no place to go / Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…"_


	21. A Jamaaliday Rescue - Part I (Dec 21st)

**A/N:** Just to clarify - I know there's not really a building in the center of Jamaaliday Rescue, but I had to add it here so it made more sense. Enjoy reading and don't forget to review :D

* * *

Everyone was crowded at the entrance of the Jamaaliday Rescue maze. As they listened to the rules, Rosy glanced around. Snow was falling in flurries - maybe there would be snow after all, even though it didn't amount to much quite yet. It was collecting on the icy walls and on the presents.

"...and remember to have fun!" Darter, the deer, finished. He motioned for the Jammers to head into the maze.

Rosy, Prancing, Snickety, and Lucky dashed into the maze together, laughing. Ember, Muddy, and Velvet dragged behind. Suddenly, Ocean and Tranquil bolted ahead, soon going out of sight. Rosy could hear Crashing and Fauna Courageousclaw talking to each other behind everyone else. Gallant, Quick, and Organized had gotten an early start about ten minutes ago.

"Have fun! And remember, stay together!" Swaggy Rainymoon called. "We'll wait at the center of the labyrinth for you!"

"We'll stay safe, Dad!" Lucky called over the ice wall, bouncing up and down. She picked up a present and put it into her bag.

"Come on, let's get going," Snickety squealed, kicking up some of the snow. He giggled and shook the snow out of his fur.

* * *

After around half an hour, the wind had decided to pick up slightly, blowing the snow in everyone's faces. The snowfall had also increased, and now everything was coated in a snowy, wintery white.

"Looks like it decided to snow after all!" Rosy exclaimed happily as she picked up a yellow present with a blue ribbon and tossed it into her bag. "You know, snow has so many secrets. Can anyone actually believe that no two snowflakes are exactly the same?"

"Well, if no two Jammers are exactly the same, why should snowflakes?" Prancing pointed out, smiling. She tightened the Jamaaliday scarf around her neck and adjusted her knitted hat. "It sure is getting colder, though."

"I wonder how many presents we have," Lucky said, suddenly stopping. She threw her bag down onto the snow and started taking them out. "I'm sure I have more than twenty. What about you guys?"

Rosy set down her bag in the snow and peered inside it. There were green and red presents, yellow and blue presents, golden, purple, and pink presents. Snowflakes shielded her view from them, so she opened the bag further.

"I think I have about twenty," Rosy said.

"Me too," Snickety said. "My bag's not too full yet."

"Same here. We've still got more presents to find, but we can slow down if it gets kind of cold for everyone," Prancing said, standing up. She tossed her bag over her shoulder and shivered slightly. "I'm actually kinda hoping the snow's gonna stop now. There's probably enough already."

For the first time in forever, Rosy felt as if there was too much snow. She, too, shivered and closed her gift bag, walking along with the other three in silence, listening to the snow roar.

* * *

Legit Icyfire glanced out the window and cringed.

"Wow, it sure is snowing a bunch," he said. "It looks like it might turn into a monster."

Swaggy Rainymoon bounded next to him and shuddered. "I hope not," he said, shaking his head. "Bunnies aren't built for that kind of weather."

"At least your daughter has the Cleverivy kids with her," Legit said. "But even foxes aren't quite built for a huge snowstorm."

"But you know Rosy and Prancing," Sparkle Jellyscout said, walking next to the two worried fathers. "They'd never let their little brother or their friends down. If things do get out of hand, though, we might have to go looking for everyone else…"

Just as Legit as about to say something, someone suddenly burst through the door, covered in snow. The roar of the wind could be heard for a second before the Jammer shut the door tight and shook the snow out of his feathers.

"Explorer? What are you doing here?" Forest asked. "Dear Mira, you're frozen, aren't you - "

"I'm fine. I'm leaving through the portal in a moment," Explorer Daringartist said, turning to face everyone. "I just want to let you all know that a blizzard is on its way and will be here in around fifteen minutes. Don't leave the building. Man, I already thought this _was_ a blizzard until I heard that it was supposed to be at least three times bigger." Then, he glanced around the room. "Hey, where are all the kids?"

Everyone was frozen. Legit's heart started pounding. He started breathing heavily. Peering out the window, he gasped in horror. He could hardly see three feet ahead. It was worse than just a few minutes ago. He could barely even see the green of the portal. Presents were crazily flying everywhere, and to his absolute horror, a loose ice brick wiggled loose of a nearby wall and flew towards the window.

" _Look out!_ " Swaggy cried. He ducked, pulling his long ears over him. Legit and Sparkle ducked as well.

Less than a second later, the loudest shatter in the world could be heard. The room suddenly turned cold as the roar of the wind and snow filled the room, icy snowflakes biting at everyone's skin.

It took Legit a while to register what just happened.

Suddenly, everyone screamed and started cleaning up the shattered glass and ice. Legit jumped up and ran over to Explorer.

"The kids are still in the maze!" he cried out in horror. "They started around an hour ago!" He told himself that this wasn't possible. Tranquil and Ocean were both half lynx and half cougar. They weren't 100% ready for a blizzard.

Explorer's eyes went wide.

Notable was suddenly by his side. "What if Ember and Muddy freeze out there?" she cried. "Oh, Zios!"

Legit squeezed past the two to the door. "I'm going out to look for them," he said. He truly didn't care if he froze. He had to save his children and everyone else's.

"You're not going out there!" Explorer said, yanking him back. "Not like that!"

"Here, put these on," Incredible said, handing over a furry hat, a thick winter coat, a Jamaaliday scarf, and a pair of cozy winter books. He himself was wearing the same, but with a zipper tail as well. "I'm going with you."

"Two people isn't enough. I'm going, too," Wild Perfectjammer said, stepping over.

Medieval gasped. "No, Wild, you can't!"

"I have to," he said. "For everyone." He dashed into the back of the room for a minute before returning, wearing all sorts of winter gear and also carrying a small bag in his back. He handed a flashlight each to Legit and Incredible.

"It's getting dark, and we'll need those," he said. "I'm bringing a lighter just in case."

 _Genius._ Of course they needed flashlights and a lighter. Legit wondered why he couldn't think of it himself. He had also forgotten that today was December 21st. The night was longer, and it was going to be cold outside.

"Let's go now before this storm gets any worse," Legit said. He stepped out into the raging blizzard. The snow bit at his flesh like a hundred sharp needles, but he pushed himself against it.

He wouldn't give up. He had to save his children and everyone else's. Taking a glance over his shoulder to make sure Incredible and Wild were following, he stepped down the icy steps. It took all the courage he had to turn out of the center of the maze, knowing that if he got lost, he was done for, but his children's love kept him going.

If he lost Ocean and Tranquil, he didn't know what he'd do.

* * *

Prancing fought against the wind through the darkening land. She looked up, the snow biting at her, and saw another slide. All the presents had blown off, but she didn't care.

"Come on," Prancing called. "We have to climb up and then slide down. It's our only way."

"Don't want to slide!" Snickety cried. "I'm freezing!"

Prancing pulled her brother closer and shivered herself. Her paws were going numb. "We're all freezing, Snickety! Come on!"

But just as she managed to drag everyone up the stairs, the icy blocks collapsed underneath her paws, sending everyone tumbling back down and into the freezing snow.

Prancing scowled, grabbed the bag of presents, and scrambled back onto her paws. She had to be strong for her younger siblings and her friend. "Forget it! We'll have to go around then!" She swore she almost died at the sight of the long path to the left.

"But that way is even longer!" Lucky cried out, the wind throwing her into the snow yet again.

"That's our only way!" Prancing said, shuffling forward. "Come on!"

* * *

Empress Icyfire fiddled with the edge of her holiday sweater.

If Ocean and Tranquil froze, and so did Legit…

She refused to believe that her family was outside in the storm and freezing to death. She got up and paced around the room. _Legit is fine. He's a lynx. He knows the cold. The girls know it, too, even if they aren't entirely lynxes…_

Suddenly, two people burst through the door and collapsed on the ground.

It was Quick and Organized. They were covered in snow and were as still as statues.

The room turned into chaos as everyone tried to drag the two frozen wolves next to the fireplace. Empress suddenly perked up and realized something.

Where was Gallant?

"Where's Gallant?" she asked them, walking over. "Organized, Quick, where's Gallant? Where's your brother?"

Organized moved slightly. He breathed in.

"...s-s-slide," he said. "We w-went...down...then h-e...g-g-g-gone. T-tried to find...c-couldn't…"

Gallant had been separated from his brothers. Empress then realized, if Gallant was covered in snow - especially near the slide - he'd look just like a lump. Incredible, Legit, and Wild wouldn't realize it.

Empress sat down and sighed.

Everything was in the hands of Mira and Zios now.

* * *

After about another half hour, the snow had gotten worse. Incredible had never felt so cold in his life. He wasn't even sure if an arctic wolf was able to feel this cold. It seemed like being a phantom - the fact that he was actually freezing.

The wind suddenly lurched, throwing him down into the snow. Incredible scrambled back up and picked up the flashlight, shining it anywhere he could, praying that the children were hidden somewhere in a corner.

" _Ember! Muddy!_ " he shouted. " _Rosy! Prancing! Ocean! Gallant! Lucky! Where are you guys? Velvet? Snickety?_ "

Then Wild started shouting.

" _Crashing! Fauna!_ " he screamed. " _Can you hear me?_ "

Incredible could hardly see Legit in front of him. For a second, he thought they'd lost him until he heard his voice from behind, realizing that somehow, Legit had gotten _behind_ him.

" _Organized! Quick! Tranquil!_ " called Legit. "Please tell me they're safe, Mira, please…"

Incredible could feel his paws going numb. He struggled to stay on his paws, holding his flashlight in his mouth His legs were shaking and his vision was going blurry. The dark scene before him appeared to wave back and forth.

Suddenly, a large pile of snow fell on top of him. He struggled to stand back up before another pile of snow shoved him back down. Just as he was about to get back up, he heard Wild scream.

Before he could try and get up again, Incredible's body decided that it had enough. He felt a sharp needle-stabbing pain all over him as he collapsed into the snow. A sudden warmth spread through him and then, the blizzard stopped, the snow stopped, and just as all noise shut down, a final darkness fell over everything.

* * *

Rosy stopped at the side of another slide mound.

"Let's just dig a hole and stay here," she called over the wind. "Please."

Suddenly, all four were digging as fast as they could, making a hole in the side of the mound just large enough for them.

At last, they all climbed in. Snickety snuggled closer to Lucky and instantly fell asleep. It didn't look like they'd get out of here for a while - at least until tomorrow morning. Rosy set the bag down in a corner and snuggled closer to Prancing.

"We'll just have to wait," Prancing said, yawning. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" Rosy said, yawning herself. But, to her, it didn't seem like a good night. More like a bad night. Although she was freezing and was afraid that she wouldn't ever see her parents again, she felt extremely tired. Her eyelids suddenly closed and she fell asleep.


	22. A Jamaaliday Rescue - Part II (Dec 22nd)

Incredible awoke to someone shaking him.

"Incredible," the voice said, "Incredible, are you awake?"

Incredible slowly opened his eyes and saw a bunch of blurry flickering flames in front of him. It slowly swayed back and forth until it came into focus and revealed a small pile of burning twigs and leaves. He slowly regained feeling in his paws and moved around, desperately trying to remember what had happened.

As he turned around, he was shocked to see a phantom staring back at him.

"Wait, what the - ?!" Incredible gasped, his eyes wide, backing away as fast as he could. "How did you get here? Phantoms haven't been seen in Jamaa since - I don't know, since thousands of years ago when the Alphas - "

The phantom held up one of its black legs and stopped floating in the air, cutting off Incredible.

"We've been here, and always have," the phantom said. "We help Jammers when we can. You were nearly frozen out there last night when we found you and your friends. We found some other young Jammers too. My friends are with them now."

 _Frozen. Jammers. Friends._

At that instant, Incredible remembered - the icy wind blowing into him, the flashlights, the blizzard, the search for his family and all the kids, Wild screaming…

 _Wild._

"Where's Wild?" Incredible asked in panic. "He screamed last night but I didn't hear anything else. Wild Perfectjammer - do you know him? He was behind me in the maze and he was wearing winter gear, too. And what about Legit?"

'"Legit Icyfire?" the phantom said. "The lynx?"

"Yes. With a red swirl pattern."

"I swear, he legitimately _was_ icy fire. He wouldn't have survived another second out there, and that goes for all you three. He's okay, though. He'll be back soon."

Not a second later, Legit staggered out of another nearby room. He sat back down next to Incredible and the phantom.

"Where were you?" Incredible asked.

"Answering nature's call." Then he paused. "Hey, why hasn't Wild woken up yet?"

The phantom paused and sighed. "Well, uh, he…"

"He what?" Incredible questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You better not have delivered him over to the phantom king and are now holding him captive, just _waiting_ for some Jammer to go out and save him."

"Wild's a koala, right?" the phantom said as if he wanted to make sure.

Legit and Incredible nodded. "Impossible to miss any part of that with those swirly ears," Legit said. "Everyone knows that."

"And koalas, I'm pretty sure, are not built for this kind of weather, especially of last night…" the phantom continued, his voice fading.

"No, they're not," Incredible said, starting to get irritated. "Just tell us what happened to him and why he isn't awake yet and where the fortress he is now."

The phantom sighed. "We found one of those large candy canes on his back when we saw you. When we went over to him, he was unconscious, but when we brought him back…"

Incredible tried to absorb what he just heard, but he didn't understand anything.

"Can we see him?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know. Wild's - "

" _Can we see him or not?_ "

The phantom paused. "I guess there's no harm in letting two Jammers see a friend who's not really here. He's over in that room over there, but he's not going to wake up. I can guarantee you that."

Incredible rolled his eyes. "We'll just see about that," he said while he led Legit into the room to the left. Wild was lying on his back and was covered in blankets, leaving on his head visible.

"Wild?" Legit called. "Wild, it's us. Legit and Incredible. You're okay."

There wasn't the slightest response.

Incredible walked closer to his friend and then suddenly realized he was completely still.

* * *

Medieval Cleverivy sighed.

No one else had returned since Organized and Quick had. Incredible, Legit, and Wild hadn't, either. He sure hoped they were safe and had taken shelter somewhere. He couldn't stand the thought of his frozen children and friends…

"What if they don't return?" Forest said quietly. Medieval felt her snuggle closer to him. "What if they get caught by the phantoms and become slaves?"  
Medieval looked at his wife. "Come on," he said. "You know phantoms are a part of everyone and no true phantom exists. Of course Legit and the other two will return with all the kids. You know they don't leave us just like that. Mira's gonna help get them back. We just gotta believe."

Forest trembled.

"You should never have let them go into the maze," she snarled suddenly.

Medieval was shocked. He pulled away from Forest and several others turned to look at the two.

"Woah there," Medieval said. "Since when was it my idea? _They_ wanted to go into the labyrinth themselves and have some fun. The snow just decided to come. Not my fault on any part."

"You could've stopped them!" Forest snapped. "You could've known that a blizzard was on its way! Why did you let them go in there, Medieval? _Why?_ "

Medieval's heart began to pound. He started trembling as well. "It's impossible to predict the weather in Jamaa. Everyone knows that. They'll return all safe and sound, okay?"

"But you could have - "

"We all could have done something to prevent this from happening!"

"Okay, you two, what's all this about? You've never argued before," Swaggy said, walking over. "It's not anyone's fault that this happened."

Forest scowled. "What I don't understand is why Medieval didn't stop them!"

Medieval sighed. "She's right," he said before slunking down and curling up onto the poofy rug. "It was my fault. I'm a father. I should've been more responsible and I should've known better. I shouldn't've let them play this adventure on such a dangerous day like yesterday."

"It wasn't your fault, Medieval," Sheriff Amusingscholar said, slowly shuffling over. "Everyone knows that even an arctic fox can't predict winter weather."

"Speaking of arctic foxes," Magical Rainymoon said, "two of them are coming towards us right now, and a bunch of people are following them."

Everyone jumped up and dashed out the door. Medieval was almost blinded by the bright snow as he leaped out of the small hut, but when he focused his vision on the figures coming towards them, he realized it was everyone who had gone missing last night. The kids, plus Incredible and Legit. He scanned all the Jammers for Wild, but didn't see him.

At the moment, he didn't care. Medieval and Forest bolted into the snow, tripping this way and that, kicking up frozen snow. They ran over to Rosy, Prancing, and Snickety and hugged them tightly.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Forest said to the three.

Medieval smiled. "I love you all so much."

"We'd never leave you, Dad," Prancing said tiredly.

After a few minutes, Incredible and Legit suddenly stood in front of everyone with a sad look on their faces.

"Hey, everyone," Incredible said. "You've probably wondered why Wild isn't here. Don't worry, though, he's safe. We don't have to worry about him anymore. The thing is…"

There was a pause.

Legit breathed in.

"Wild...is...dead," he said slowly. "He...well...we couldn't save him. He died before we woke up this morning."

For about ten seconds, the only sound to be heard was the sound of the adventure portal. Rosy snuggled closer to her father.

It seemed as if, when Legit had said Wild was dead, everyone else had died as well.

"He's dead, guys…" Crashing said quietly before sighing. "He's safe with Mira now. There ain't nothin' we can do. Let's...let's head back."

* * *

That night, Rosy cuddled next to Medieval in front of the fireplace.

"Dad?" she said. "How come nobody likes winter?"

Medieval turned to her. "Well, you see, Jammers don't really like the cold. Days are shorter, which means less time to play. They also have to work so much, you know, getting rid of the snow on the sidewalks and driveways and roads, not to mention the blizzard from yesterday."

"But how come everyone focuses on that part? The bad stuff about winter?" Rosy asked, sighing. "How come nobody focuses on the good part, like the Jamaalidays or the snowmen or the beautiful snowflakes?"

Medieval shrugged. "I don't know. The effect of the negative lasts longer than the effect of the positive, maybe."

Rosy sighed again and thought for a moment. "It's like Mister Perfectjammer. Everyone's sad because he's gone forever. How come nobody's happy that he's in a better place now, with Mira and Zios?"

That struck Medieval with a thought.

"Maybe Jammers care a little too much about themselves," he said. "Wild was a good person and when he was here, he did a lot of stuff for us. Made us happy. But now he's not here to make us happy and somewhere where he's happy on his own."

Rosy looked up at her father. "Like phantoms? Some are nice. Like the ones who saved us."

Medieval was confused. "Saved you? Phantoms? Could you repeat that?"

Rosy froze. "Oh, nothing," she said before snickering. "They're just phantoms. Phantoms aren't really real."


	23. The Jamaalidays are Coming (Dec 23rd)

**A/N:** _I just realized I forgot to post this yesterday. Must've been losing my mind for some reason..._

"Feliz cumpleaños" Paula Tauchert Soler! Pfft, she's probably not even reading this lol. But come on - she and Alvaro Soler are awesome, so why not at least say happy birthday to her?

Have fun reading this short little chapter. I'm excited for Christmas (oops, Jamaalidays). Aren't you guys also excited? Don't forget to leave a review :)

* * *

Notable was still shaken up by the blizzard.

"Ember! Are your paws cold?" she asked. "Do you need anything?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm fine. I'm not frozen anymore. In fact, I haven't been frozen since yesterday morning. No need to worry - I'm okay."

"But it must've - "

"Can I have some time alone now, Mom?" Ember said. "Please? I'll call you if I need anything."

Notable sighed. "But what if - "

"Quit it with the 'what ifs'. Why aren't you so worried about Muddy half the time?"

Notable shrugged. "I don't know."

"Cause you love me more? Well, I don't like that. Quit pestering me, and now go bother him. I promise I'm okay. _Nothing will happen -_ the trouble is over."

* * *

Medieval sighed.

He couldn't believe Wild was gone - right before the Jamaalidays. No funeral was to be held. Wild didn't seem to have any family, and it seemed that his relationship history was also empty. Any memorial service would be uneventful.

He turned around and clawed at the snow, nearly a foot deep.

Then he remembered what Rosy had asked him:

" _Everyone's sad because he's gone forever. How come nobody's happy that he's in a better place now, with Mira and Zios?"_

Medieval looked up at the cloudy sky.

Maybe it _was_ better for Wild to be with the guardians of Jamaa now. Maybe it was a better place than Jamaa itself, filled with scammers and bad Jammers. Maybe Wild had a painful past. Maybe Wild was happy now.

Medieval sat up and smiled.

If his friend was happy, then that was the best Jamaalidays present he could get, it seemed. He walked down the road, heading over to grab the Jamaaliday gifts.

* * *

Legit Icyfire smiled.

Empress sighed. "I was so scared that the phantoms would get you," she said. "You and the girls. It was so dark outside. Where in the world did you guys get all warm and cozy that night? I thought you would still be frozen to the core yesterday, but you seemed fine."

Legit shrugged. "Well, things happen," he said, grinning. "The phantoms...well, maybe they found us. Don't worry, they didn't hurt us though."

Suddenly, Empress perked up. "They didn't hurt you? You mean they took _care_ of you when they found you?"

Legit froze. "Well, no," he said quickly. "Ocean, Tranquil, and I, uh, encountered them. But don't worry. They didn't say anything. In fact, they didn't even go near us. We just saw them, that's all."

Empress raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, Mom," Tranquil said. "Really. After all, phantoms _are_ real. They're the whole reason why Jamaaliday Rescue exists. Why wouldn't they be there?"

Legit listened to his wife and son talk on and on. He _had_ encountered the phantoms, and they'd taken care of him. Maybe the Reindeer Delivery Service actually _had_ something to do with phantoms. Maybe the phantoms weren't so bad after all.

In fact, he thought he might just get a present for them.


	24. A Silent Night (Dec 24th)

Rushing Jellyscout walked around Jam Mart Clothing. There were skirts, slippers, and coats, but he wasn't interested in any of those. Wild Perfectjammer never was.

Rushing was looking to buy Wild a present.

Sure, Wild wasn't here anymore. But why not? It gave him the feeling that Wild was. He truly was a "perfect Jammer" that was wild. Always running about, helping others, getting the best out of everything - even Jamaaliday Spiral Hedges. The one Jammers that nobody knew about that much - his past life had always been locked up - but liked anyway. Despite anything he may have gone through, Wild was the most down-to-earth, friendly, and humble Jammer Rushing had ever known. It surprised him to find out that Wild hadn't ever been in a relationship.

Rushing truly hated to see him go, but it may have been for the best. After all, things have their own reasons for happening, and if a Jammer decides to dwell on the past, more bad things can happen. It was best to stay positive.

That was when Rushing noticed the wreath necklace, lying all forgotten on the table. There was only one left - the red one with red dots and a red ribbon. He himself wasn't too fond of these.

But Wild was, and that was what mattered.

Grinning, Rushing picked up the wreath necklace and went to purchase it. When he was done, he stepped out into the cold air, the sun giving the snow a blinding shine. His plan was to go home, wrap the present, and put it next to Wild's den the next morning.

 _Just like a real Santa,_ he thought. _Only Santa goes down the chimney._

* * *

Rosy was done with wrapping several presents for her family and friends. Forest gets dark red wrapping paper with silver swirls. Medieval gets light and dark blue striped with white snowflakes. Prancing gets gold wrapping paper with red and white polka dots, and Snickety gets gingerbread-brown with little white snowmen scattered everywhere. All of them were tied shut with pine-green ribbon. A tag hung from each, saying _To_ and _From._

One pile was for her family - the other was for her friends. All her friends' presents were wrapped in green wrapping paper with red and white snowflakes. She would deliver them the next morning to everyone's dens.

But something was missing. She felt she had forgotten someone. Someone had helped her recently, and she felt they deserved a present too. They'd been neglected and forgotten about for so long. No matter how hard she thought, however, she couldn't put her finger on who it was.

Then she remembered - the phantoms. If they hadn't reached out and helped her and all her friends that day of the blizzard, she wouldn't be here right now.

What could she possibly give the phantoms, though? As far as she knew, they were almost ghosts. They weren't supposed to be created by Mira. The small cabin she'd "defrosted" in didn't seem to have any sort of Jamaalidays spirit, or at least the part Prancing, Snickety and she had seen. Maybe they didn't even celebrate the Jamaalidays.

Rosy jumped out of her chair and stored away the presents for later. Then she ran upstairs, grabbing Snickety and Prancing on the way.

* * *

Crashing and Fauna set the box of chocolates on the wrapping paper, pulling the edges up and wrapping it around. After a few minutes of adjusting it this way and that, they finally finished, adding a small red bow to the top.

"Now all that's left to do is to send it off to Mom and Dad," Fauna said. "We'll send it to Dad's username."

Crashing nodded. "Let's go."

They grabbed a Jam-A-Gram card from the small table and went outside, attaching the present to the Jam-A-Gram. Writing "Happy Jamaalidays" on it, Crashing put it in the mailbox, waiting for it to be delivered later.

"And we'll wait," Crashing said. "Hopefully they get it this year."

* * *

That night, Medieval glanced up at the dark sky. Stars were scattered here and there as he sat in the snow, aimlessly wondering.

He heard the crunch of snow for a few seconds before someone trotted up next to him. Turning, he realized it was Rosy.

"Oh, hey, Rosy," he said, turning back to the sky. "I don't know what I'm doing out here."

Rosy shrugged. "Was just about to ask you that. You know, Dad, I've been wondering."

"About what?"

"About why the Jamaalidays exist. I mean, you know the Feast of Thanks is mostly being thankful for what you have and being happy? I mean, what does it mean? How was it made, and who made it? If the Jamaalidays are all about having fun and giving gifts to each other, there's gotta be something behind it, right? Things all exist for a reason."

Medieval cocked his head. His second daughter always asked the most mystical and deep questions. "I don't know why it does, Rosy. But hey - I've heard of something."

Rosy turned to him. "What?"

"You see that sky? It could go on forever, doesn't it?"

Rosy nodded. "Jamaa's a big place."

"But beyond that sky, there's something else. Something else much bigger than Jamaa. From there, Jamaa is just so tiny. In fact, lots of people - not Jammers - don't know that we exist."

"Really?" Rosy asked, bewildered.

"Yes, really," Medieval continued. "And they say - many years ago, maybe just over two thousand - someone very special was born on December 25th. I don't know his name. But he's the son of their guardian."

"How many guardians do they have out there?"

"Only one. Or two. I don't know. They're not like Mira and Zios. You know what Santa is supposed to look like, right? Well, all the people living in the world out there look similar to him - they're just not as fat."

"Was the special person like that, too?" Rosy asked curiously.

"I think so. But he wasn't just any ordinary person. He was born for a reason in which I don't know. None of us Jammers know, and many of the people out there - they don't know either. In fact, none of them even call it the Jamaalidays."

"What do they call it, Dad?"

Medieval shrugged. "Not sure. Something that starts with a C. Or an N. The one that starts with C has something to do with that special person's name. He was born on a night that was very silent - like now. A silent night."

There was silence for a moment as if Medieval's words were a command to any sound.

"How did it turn into gift-giving?" Rosy asked after a while.

"Well…" Medieval sighed. "I'm not sure. But if that special person was born for a reason, then maybe it was the guardian's gift to the people his or her world. Maybe that's why. Seems logical, doesn't it?"

Rosy nodded. "Yeah. Makes sense. Now let's go to sleep, or Santa ain't gonna come!"

Medieval laughed. "Alright, alright. Race you to the door!"


	25. Jamaalidays (Dec 25th)

**A/N:** Merry Christmas! Remember, this isn't the last chapter - there will be more until December 31st! I'm sorry this chapter can't be any longer, but hey...even Christmas isn't that eventful.

* * *

Rosy yawned as she sat up in bed. Prancing was already up, brushing her fur and adjusting the scarf on her neck.

"Hurry up, Rosy," she said. "Snickety, Mom, and Dad are all ready. It's time to open presents in just a few minutes."

Rosy yawned again. "Alright, alright, I'm coming," she said.

She quickly jumped out of bed, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. Then she dashed down the stairs to the kitchen, where everyone was eating breakfast - toast.

"Took you long enough," Snickety said. "We was just about to open those presents without you."

Rosy glanced over and the Jamaaliday tree in the corner. Presents were piled up under it, and from a nearby table, hung the stockings. None of them seemed to have been touched quite yet. The variety of color was amazing.

"Remember we have to make cookies, too," Rosy said. "After presents, of course."

* * *

"Come on," Rosy whispered to Prancing and Snickety. "Let's sneak back to Jamaaliday Rescue to give this to the phantoms."

Snickety carried the present on his back and he scurried forward, Prancing and Rosy following just behind. They walked and walked, avoiding presents, the snow crunching under their feet. They slid down slides and took many turns until they finally reached the spot they had taken shelter in that night with Lucky.

"Where do we go from here?" Snickety asked.

Rosy glanced around and pointed to a fallen candy cane. "That way," she said. "I remember seeing that on the way back to the center. Let's look around."  
Prancing looked to the left, Snickety glanced to the right, and Rosy tried to see over the icy wall. A crack in the ice bricks was filled with snow.

Soon, Rosy caught a glimpse of a small, familiar cluster of roofs. She dropped back down and told her siblings that they had to climb over the wall to get there.

"How?" Prancing said, confused. "I mean, I don't remember climbing over anything when we got led back to the center of this labyrinth."

"I don't, either, but that might be what the huge crack here is about," Rosy said. "Let's just climb over it and see. Here, I'll make a snow mound so we can stand on it."

They began to dig up snow, piling it, making a small slope that rose to halfway up the wall. Rosy threw her paws to the top of the wall and pulled herself over, gesturing for Snickety to give her the present.

The present seemed to fly over the wall, and Rosy caught it in her paws. She set it aside and told Prancing to give Snickety a shove, and soon, he was over on the other side as well. Prancing climbed over a few seconds later.

"So, which one of these houses do we leave the present at? There's so many," Snickety said. "I remember we woke up in the little house with the wreath just above its door, I think. The one over there."

Shrugging, Rosy approached the closest house. "They all saved us," she said, "and this present is for all of them, so it doesn't really matter."

She placed the present at the door.

"Let's go," she said. "The phantoms will find it sooner or later. They'll be happy - I know they will be."

* * *

How she wished she could be with all her Jammers. He would, too.

She closed her eyes and spread out her wings. If she had one wish, she would return with him to Jamaa. The land she loved so much. At least she hoped the Alphas were taking care of it for her.

But for now, she was trapped. She had been trapped since she had attempted to stop the phantoms. She wished so much she could at least be with all her Jammers on the Jamaalidays - he could, too - but it didn't seem like that wish would ever be granted, not until Jammers came to save her.

 _Don't worry,_ he said. _It may take a long time, but the Jammers are coming for us._

 _What if they never do?_ she sighed.

 _They will,_ he responded. _I know they will. They're working hard at it right no. Just think - the Alphas, we chose them well. One day, we'll be able to live again. To have fun. To be with our Jammers._

She tried to imagine Jammers working in harmony, defeating the phantoms and saving him and her. But they seemed so far away, and of course, they were. Taking thousands of years to get to them _was,_ after all, far away.

Not as far away, she thought, as dreams.

 _Surely they're coming,_ he said.

 _I know they are. It'll take some time, but they'll come. I already know the presents I'm going to give to everybody - joy, happiness, even rares. So much and everything they could ever want..._

* * *

The phantom slowly opened the window a crack, making sure nobody was here.

Then he stepped out the door, and to his surprise, he saw a large package at his door. Picking it up, he realized it was heavy.

After he'd dragged it inside, he read the card that was attached.

 _Thank you for saving us,_ it read. _We wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for all of you. You know, maybe phantoms aren't bad after all. I hope there's many more good Jammers and phantoms out in Jamaa like you guys. Happy Jamaalidays. Too bad you can't have some fun with us. We sent this present because we thought phantoms should get a chance to have fun, too._

The phantom scratched his head and slowly opened the huge box, realizing it was full of Jamaaliday-themed items, candy canes, toys, and even rares.

"Hey!" he said to his friend. "Come over here! The Jammers we saved that day? They gave us something! A Jamaaliday present!"

The phantom's friend was over in an instant.

"Huh? Who sent us all this? I sure hope nobody here smuggled anything from the Jammers. They's be after us in an instant, I know that," he said, taking several diamonds and a spiked collar out.

"Read the card," the phantom said to his friend. "I think it's for all us phantoms here."

"Oh, it was those three foxes? And that dead koala - what was his name again, Wild?"

"Probably. But it wasn't just them we saved, remember that."

The phantom dug through the box and smiled. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt loved. Truly loved. He and his friends had escaped the phantom king, not liking the bad actions they were taught to do. During December, they always hid in these little cabins that they were sure that Mira didn't know about. They helped Jammers when they could.

"You know what? I think I want to be a Jammer one day," the phantom said, smiling.

"Who knows. That might just happen. Even if it's far away, I think it will," his friend said, smiling back.

* * *

"So, I'd like to know," Medieval said, "why you three were wrapping such a huge present."

Rosy shrugged. "It was for someone," she said. "Someone special."

"Wild?"

"No. Someone else," Prancing said. "A group of people. I hope they can become Jammers one day, but I don't think they'll be accepted."

Medieval raised an eyebrow. _What are they talking about?_ "What do you mean, they won't be accepted?" He dropped more sprinkles on the cookies.

"You know. Nobody's really gonna trust them."

"Oh, okay, I see…" However, Medieval still didn't understand. "Are they new here to Jamaa? Did they do something bad in the past that might've caused us to not trust them? Maybe they used to be a scamming or trouble-causing group?"

"Legend says their kind wants to take over - I mean, cause trouble - in Jamaa, but the ones we met were different," Rosy said. "They wanted to help Jamaa, like they helped us."

Medieval raised an eyebrow. " _Helped_ you? When?"

Rosy hesitated, and Snickety came to her rescue as he was rolling the cookie dough.

"Someone came up to us that day in the blizzard and helped us find a present that we think we dropped," he said. "We learned that he comes around when Jammers need help, and he helped us that day."

"Well...can you give me his name?" Medieval asked. _This better be good. They're hiding something from me, for sure._

"He didn't tell us his name," Snickety said.

Medieval rolled his eyes. What kind of Jammer didn't have a name? "Was he member or non-member?"

"Um. I don't know. He's a pha - I mean, some animal we didn't recognize, but he looked a bit like an octopus on land - and those don't really have 'membership' classifications, I guess."

Medieval snorted. "Octopus on land? Seriously?"

"That's what he - or she, I don't know? - looked like!" Prancing laughed.

"Okay, we'll talk about this later," Medieval said. Then he lowered his voice and leaned closer to his children. "And I'm going to find out what you're hiding from me."

They all shuddered before laughing nervously.


	26. Phantoms and Plushies (Dec 26th)

**A/N:** This was supposed to be posted yesterday but the doc manager thing was acting weird and said that this couldn't be converted into a document :T well here it is now along with chapter 27.

* * *

Rosy set her new fox plushie right next to her owl plushie. The owl was dark grey and the fox was a bright, magenta pink.

She sat down on her bed and opened her journal, writing in her secret code. _The Jamaalidays were good yesterday, and I wish I could've gotten you something. But anyway, I hope the phantoms found our present. I could never thank them enough for the way they helped us that night in the blizzard._

As she closed the notebook, she heard Forest call her and Prancing down.

"Hey, you three up there," she called. "There's a random big fat box that says it's for you. We don't know what's inside it and the 'from' part of the tag is empty."

Rosy, Prancing, and Snickety rushed down the stairs and saw a large package that Medieval had put on the table.

"Says it's for you three," he said, "so I didn't open it. I'm not sure what whoever sent this was up to, though. Could've been the mysterious floating octopus you guys mentioned yesterday…" Then he laughed.

Rosy shrugged. "We'll see if we open it," she said. But she knew it was from the phantoms. She sure hoped they didn't just send the gifts from yesterday back - it was the same box and the same tag (only flipped over).

"What does the card say?" Prancing asked, detaching it from the bow.

"Read it," Forest said.

Prancing inhaled.

"'Thanks for the present,'" she read. "'And, well, helping others is our job now, I guess. We can't do anything else. We didn't want to mention who we were in here because we don't want anyone to know. But, after so many years of just standing in the corner, maybe we'll think of giving you Jammers a little surprise. We've sent something back to you. Happy Jamaalidays - but we think this present might be a little late…'"

There was silence for a few moments as Prancing set the card down.

"Well, that was, uh…" Medieval said, shrugging. "Why don't we see what's inside?"

Snickety slowly undid the ribbon that tied the box together. Rosy then lifted the top of the box off. She saw something inside - something like a Santa hat. When she reached a paw inside to touch it, it was soft. It felt like a plushie.

"What do we have here?" Medieval said.

Prancing pulled the soft dark item out of the box and her mouth fell open.

It was a huge phantom plushie with a Santa hat on it.

" _Wait,_ " Medieval said, slamming his paw on the table. "You said, an octopus on land and they wouldn't be accepted if they entered this area of Jamaa? A phantom helped you?"

Rosy froze. _Dad can't find out. What can we say? Think now, Rosy…_ "No. I mean, an octopus has, um. Eight legs, right? A phantom doesn't have that many. Besides, why would phantoms be here anyway? They haven't been spotted for a really long time. Everyone knows that for a fact."

Medieval scowled. "Really? So a phantom - "

"Medieval, there was no phantom. Don't worry," Forest said, though Rosy could tell she as suspicious as well.

"Oh, okay, no phantoms. _Totally,_ " Medieval sighed. "Have fun with the plushie, I'm grabbin' one of those cookies now." He walked into the kitchen and sighed again. Rosy could hear him muttering to himself. "Phantoms, huh? They're going to be sorry they laid a hand on my children…"


	27. Rares (Dec 27th)

"Dad? What're you doing?"

Incredible was hastily digging through his inventory.

"Dad!"

Suddenly, Incredible snapped back into reality. He turned to see Muddy staring up at him with big brown eyes, full of curiosity.

"Sorry, Muddy, didn't realize you were there," Incredible said, throwing three spiked collars to the side. "I'm trying to find that alpha sword I promised I'd return to a Jammer. Have you seen it anywhere?"

Muddy shrugged. "No." Then he glanced around the room, rare items scattered in every corner. "But you'd better clean this up. Mom's not gonna like this when she comes back."

Incredible then realized the mess he had made. If Notable came back to this, she'd probably bite him. Hard.

"Wanna help me clean it up?" he asked his son.

Muddy stuck his nose high in the air. "Only if I get a black long," he said, grinning wickedly.

Incredible's smile faded. "How about...a black worn instead?"

"How about a black worn and a green worn? Ain't me who made this mess!"

"Alright, alright," Incredible said, his smile returning. He had more rares than he needed - why not give some of them to his son? "Go pick up those headdresses over there and then those leap year items over there."

* * *

Ember yawned.

She climbed off her bed and went over to her inventory, taking out a magenta furry hat, a black long, a pair of leap year leg armor, a beta elf tail armor, and finally, an alpha sword.

She threw all the items down on the floor of the room and organized them. Then, after thinking for a while, she went back to her inventory and dug out more rare items, throwing them onto the floor as well.

After a few hours, her room was a complete mess.

"Ember? Ember, it's time for - "

The door burst open and Incredible was staring at the huge mess of rares.

"What happened here?" he said after a few moments of silence.

Ember shrugged. She fiddled with the undefined Jamaaliday sweater she was wearing. "Just felt like...playing with all my rare items today," she said. "Just wanted to pretend to be the rarest person ever, I guess."

"You already are the rarest kid at Jamaa Academy," Incredible said, shaking his head. "If anything, your mother and I shouldn't be…"

His gaze fell on a certain item.

"Where did you get that?" he said.

Ember turned and realized her father was pointing at the alpha sword.

"Oh, nothing," Ember said, trying to cover up the truth. "I just got it. Someone wanted to trade it for my ice armor so I accepted."

"You never even _had_ ice armor," Incredible growled. "Now tell me the truth, young lady. Where did you get this?" He picked up the blue sword.

Ember sighed. "Alright, fine, you got me. I - "

"You took it from my inventory and then lied about it? I'm disappointed in you, Ember. Since when have you stolen from your parents?"

Ember froze. "No, no, I didn't steal it! I just wanted to borrow it for a little while and maybe - "

" _Borrow?_ So if you want to borrow it, ask next time. I got an angry client down there all because I was supposed to return this little sword to them three days ago and I haven't been able to find it." Incredible scowled and spun around, storming down the hallway.

"Whatcha gonna do? You gonna suspend me or _what?_ " Ember shouted after him, poking her head out of her room's door.

Incredible paused and suddenly turned back around.

"Why, suspension? That's a _wonderful_ idea, Ember. I was just thinking about doing that. I will come back to you and I will eagerly grant your little wish," he said.


	28. Secrets Are Secrets (Dec 28th)

**A/N:** December is coming to an end and I've enjoyed writing this, even though it's gotten in the way of some things. A new Challenge is up for 2018. I'll be updating my profile soon with where you can find the details! It will be posted here on but it may or may not be related to Animal Jam. I'm still deciding on whether or not to make it entirely Little House on the Prairie or a mix of all the categories I love...but enough talk about that. Read this short little chapter and tell me what you think :D

* * *

Gallant Jellyscout traced the icy horizon with his eyes. It all seemed strange to him that such a flat-seeming world was round, and even then, there was still so much to be explored. He dreamed of discovering a new land one day, but he knew that may never happen. Nobody dared venture beyond what they knew of Jamaa - things out there would always be unpredictable. Maybe the phantoms lived there, and just like the ones that had saved him the other day, wanted to be a part of Jamaa, too.

He sure hoped they'd be accepted. After all, they were only misunderstood, weren't they?

"I hope I'll see you guys again," he said out loud.

"See who again?" a voice boomed from behind.

Gallant, startled, jumped up.

Rushing was staring at him with a bewildered look on his face. "What did you mean, you hoped you'd see someone again? Who were you talking about? Tell me the truth, now, okay?"

"Oh, just a Jammer I met while in the blizzard," Gallant said, hoping it would cover up the truth. "He and his friends helped me find my way back to everyone else. They didn't seem to be from Jamaa, that's all. I was just hoping I'd meet them again one day."

Rushing raised an eyebrow. "Hm, okay," he said, though Gallant knew he didn't truly believe him. Then he turned around. "It's getting dark. Why don't we, uh...head back inside?"

Gallant felt relief cascade through him. "Yeah, let's go."

Sooner or later, however, he knew he'd have to find a different way to patch up the secret.

* * *

"You're telling me you don't know a single _thing_ about any phantoms?" Medieval said, his eyes wide.

Incredible shook his head. _If he finds out, we're going to be dead._ "No, I...look, Medieval, I have no idea what you're talking about! Why would we encounter _phantoms_ in Jamaaliday Rescue, and then having them _save our lives?_ I think you're losing your mind here. Maybe your children encountered someone who had an overload of phantom plushies. Maybe they encountered a weird-looking Jammer and his or her friends. I swear to Mira and Zios that there were no such thing as phantoms."

Medieval scowled. "Then tell me - how did you get back to us all...not-frozen?"

 _Oops._ "I...made a fire? I just...I just woke up not frozen."

"You're questioning your own actions on that unforgettable night?"

"No, Medieval!" Incredible snapped. "I can't remember everything that happened that night. Maybe I just woke up 'not frozen'!"

"So you found out Wild was dead, then you returned with everyone perfectly fine, you don't know a thing, you can't remember anything you did? You know something, Incredible, and I'm going to find out sooner or later - "

"No, no, no. No, you are not. Get out. Now," Incredible interrupted. "Get out of this den. Don't argue with a moderator."

Medieval seemed shocked. "I just want to find something behind what - "

"If it was a penguin plushie hiding inside that box, you'd think it was a penguin, wouldn't you?"

"No, I wouldn't!"

"Yes, you would. You've already gone too far. I don't like arguing with my friends, but I need you to leave now. Now."

Medieval scowled again, spun around, and stormed out the door.

* * *

 **A/N:** Forget it, Medieval...you'll never find out :P secrets are secrets :)


	29. Overprotective (Dec 29th)

He didn't want to think about all the Jammers down there. Another full year without him and her in Jamaa had almost passed. That is, if they weren't going to be rescued in the next day or two.

He yawned, thinking about the fun things he could focus on. Finding out about the phantoms. Sometimes, he wished she hadn't created them, but he still loved her anyway.

 _Do you ever think they're coming for us?_ she asked suddenly. _It's been another year._

 _Sure they are. Come on. They'd never leave us,_ he replied.

She sighed. _But maybe they don't know about us anymore._

 _The eclipse has passed. You know that archive is open now. They've found out about more things - surely they have. They're on their way. We just have to believe. They've destroyed the fortress and killed the phantoms._

She sighed again. _Sometimes I lose hope._

 _We can't lose hope. Jammers never leave us. You know that. We watch over them, they watch over us._

But he himself was doubtful about rescue as well.

* * *

Forest sat at the table.

"Phantoms...phantoms, phantoms, phantoms! I know there were phantoms, and they all know it as well! How come they don't tell us?" Medieval snarled, pacing around the living room. "How come there's something wrong with me knowing what they encountered that day?"

Forest shrugged. "You're not going to approve of it, perhaps."

" _Not going to approve?_ You know what I'm not going to approve? The fact that they're hiding something from - "

"Maybe they believe that telling you has some negative effect on the Jammer they encountered. Maybe it wasn't phantoms. Forget it, Medieval."

"I'm not going to just forget something like this!" Medieval said, spinning around, his claws digging into the wood of the den floor.

Forest shook her head. _He's impossible to deal with._ "Come on. You can't find out everything about your child's life."

"But I'm their father. I have to protect them - "

"And that doesn't stay forever, Medieval," Forest said, standing up and walking over. "Sometimes, our children need to have secrets for the good of themselves or someone else. Sometimes, keeping a secret is difficult enough."

Medieval sighed and sat down in a chair. "You're right," he said. "I just don't understand why they can't tell me."

"Well…" Forest said, shrugging. "Perhaps...they think that parents can overreact."

"Overreact?" Medieval repeated quietly.

Forest nodded. "Yes. We're overprotective of our kids. Maybe they're afraid you'll do something to whoever saved them. If it was a phantom, you'd be killing it right now, wouldn't you?"

There was a pause. Then Medieval nodded.

"So what's the best thing to do right now? Leave the secret as is."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm deciding whether or not to return to Night of Destruction...probably will. After December, of course :)


	30. We're Ready For 2018 (Dec 30th)

"Well, it's time for the New Year 2018 Party," Sparkle said.

Gallant dashed into the snow fort, smiling from ear to ear. Piles of confetti were everywhere and cannons were shooting out more. He dashed past Jammers and jumped over pets until his paws suddenly went flying and he found himself staring up at Rosy, having landed in a large pile of confetti.

He blushed. "S-sorry, Rosy," he apologized, getting back on his paws and shaking the confetti out of his fur. "I guess I got a little too excited."

Rosy smiled. "That's okay," she said. "Hey, want to make a confetti snowman? We can fill it up with confetti after hollowing it out. Then we can watch it explode!"

Gallant shrugged. "Sounds like a cool idea," he said. "But how is it gonna explode?"

"Stuff some fireworks inside it and leave a small edge outside. Then we light it up."

"Let's get started, then!" Gallant said, laughing. He and Rosy dashed outside into the snow, rolling up snowballs and hollowing them out. They occasionally stopped to throw snowballs at each other, laughing.

* * *

Magical Rainymoon glanced up at the starry sky.

"It looks like 2017 is almost over," she whispered. "You know, I'm so glad I decided to stay for this year. It brought some unwelcome surprises, but no year is perfect."

She yawned and drew a small picture in the snow, dragging her toes in circles and shapes. She didn't know what she was drawing. She was drawing...something. Something that had randomly come to her mind.

After a while, she paused and tried to look at what she'd drawn.

A party hat.

Magical laughed. "It's still the 30th. Not time for it yet."

On the other hand, though, she thought, _maybe I should get ready. Bring out the decorations and confetti, 2018._

* * *

Medieval was still skeptical about the phantoms.

Rosy took off her hat and set it aside.

"I hope they know that today is the last day of December, and of the year," she said. "Too bad they can't watch the countdown with us."

Medieval spun around. "Who do you mean by 'they'? The phantoms?" He raised an eyebrow, glaring at his daughter with a questioning expression.

Rosy froze. "No, no," she said, hesitating. "The Jammers that helped us. I assure you, Dad, there were no phantoms. Everyone's told you a million times already."

Medieval nodded and rolled his eyes. _Exactly._ "Right," he said, scowling and sitting down on the couch. He then shook his head. "One million times. More than the amount of confetti you and Gallant stuffed inside that snowman after digging out its insides and - "

"Ew," Prancing said, turning her head around. "Why can't you just say 'hollowing it out'? I don't think it's that difficult."

Medieval rolled his eyes again and laughed. "Haha. Sorry, but it's just as difficult as eating a fox on the - "

" _Dad!_ " Rosy cried. "Stop. Please." However, she started laughing as well.

Everyone laughed hysterically.


	31. Welcome, 2018 (Dec 31st - Jan 1st)

**A/N:** Hey everyone! I know I didn't get any reviews for this story (or at least not when I'm posting this last chapter), but thanks to all the Jammers and AJHQ for a great year and especially a wonderful December! Even though I'll miss 2017, I've set up great goals for 2018 - for example, a writing challenge right here on FanFiction - and lots of things are going to happen in that year, for me for you, and for many things and people that I enjoy.

Again, thank you all so much - Jammers, AJHQ, FanFiction, Animal Jam, Alvaro Soler, and just 2017 as a whole for such a wonderful year.

* * *

Rosy jumped out of bed, causing Prancing, who was next to her, to grunt.

"Come on," she growled. "How come you're so excited for today? It's just the end of the year. It isn't anything special."

Rosy paused and laughed. "Really?" she said. "Not anything special? It's almost time for 2018! We gotta be able to welcome a new year, don't we?" She dug out her red new year's party hat and put it on her head.

As she dashed down the stairs, she heard Prancing call after her, "You're gonna be cleaning up that confetti that's coming out of it!"

* * *

Ember sat in her room, sorting all her rares.

She got the spiked collar in January, the magenta furry hat in February, the Leap Year worn in March, and the two spiked wristbands in April. Then she got a pair of black candy cane socks - real ones - in May. In June, July, and August, she had gotten a headdress in each month. In September, she'd gotten another rare spiked collar, and in October, two worn blankets. She'd obtained a tiki mask in November, and then a Rare Gift Sleigh just a few weeks ago - for December.

After she was done setting them up, she backed away several feet, sat down, and admired them from a distance. A few rares a month - the perfect way to end a year.

As she continued to admire them, she suddenly became aware of the fact that someone was behind her.

"Hey, you've got three headdresses. Can I have one?" Muddy's voice suddenly boomed from behind.

Ember spun around and gasped. "No," she snapped. "They're _my_ headdresses. Get your own!"

"Well, it ain't fair! _You're_ the one gettin' all the rares!"

Ember shoved him out of the room. "Then _get out,_ cause I'm never giving any of these to you, and I'm never trading any of these to you! If you want rares, then ask Mom or Dad."

"Well, they ain't ever gonna give any of 'em to me, just like you!"

"I said, get out," Ember snarled, scowling. The fur on her back began to rise. "Or I'm reporting you."

Muddy's eyes went wide. "Well, you can't report me, because I'm your brother!"

"I can, too, report you!"

"Well, there ain't no reason to - "

" _Will you quit it with the 'wells'?_ " Ember shouted. "I told you to _get out_ or I'm reporting you _right now!_ I'm not giving ANY of my rares to you, _ever!_ "

Muddy's already huge eyes got even wider. He dashed out of the room less than a second later.

* * *

Lucky Rainymoon put the dishes in the sink and bounded up to her room, which was filled with plushies. Plushies, plushies, plushies. They were her most favorite den item in the whole world of Jamaa, and she had recently gotten a giant one for the Jamaalidays, which was hiding in the corner.

Bringing all of them out, she counted and re-counted them. Five bunny plushies, two foxes, three owls, six tigers, four wolves, one arctic wolf, three kangaroos, seven lynxes, one giant kangaroo, and finally, her favorite: eight falcon plushies, one of each kind. Her favorite one was the blue falcon with the top hat and the tuxedo.

But Lucky had gotten that plushie in 2015. Now was the time for organizing the ones she'd gotten in 2017.

She had gotten the arctic wolf, two of her bunny plushies, three of the wolves, one of the owls, and three of the tigers this year. She pushed them into another pile apart from the other plushies.

From what she observed, 2017 seemed like a great year. She'd gotten nice plushies and had so much fun. 2017 would live in her heart forever. Maybe 2018 would be better or worse -that she couldn't know yet, but Lucky had a feeling it would be great as she put the plushies back and joined her parents downstairs.

* * *

"Mom? What are some things you want to do for 2018?" Gallant asked.

Sparkle shrugged. "I kind of want to earn more gems and give them away to some Jammers in need."

Gallant scribbled down on his notepad, _Earn gems to help those in need._

"Thanks, Mom," he said, closing the notepad. "I want to see what everyone wants to do for 2018. Cause I'm pretty sure we all have goals, you know!"

He bounded off towards Rushing. "Dad!" he said. "What are your goals for 2018?"

* * *

Ocean Icyfire stifled a yawn as she dug through her inventory, finally bringing out a new year's celebration hat and then a new year's party hat.

"When," she said to her sister, Tranquil, "you don't know what to wear. The rarer one or the modern, comfortable one?"

Tranquil laughed. "I'd go with the modern one. Come on. Just choose one or the other, alright? It can't be that hard. Nobody's going to say anything about it. The downside to both is having to clean up the confetti tomorrow morning."

"Confetti, huh? No wonder funfetti was called 'funfetti' - it's full of sprinkles just like confetti."

"I wonder why not rare tags," Tranquil said sarcastically. "That's basically what party hats have turned into. Spewing the remains of a rare item. Here and there. Honestly - you can't go anywhere without seeing a rare item nowadays."

"Come on, girls! The countdown is about to start!" Legit called from downstairs.

* * *

Explorer scooted closer to Major and Mythical.

"Glad you two decided to spend the new year with us," he said, winking. He turned his attention back to the TV. Two hours before 2018.

"Well, you know, if a new year or new year's eve is spent lonely, I consider that bad luck," Mythical said. "Just like the ball dropping before it's supposed to. I seriously hope that doesn't ever happen."

Explorer jumped up from the couch suddenly. "That reminds me," he said. "We need some popcorn! I'll go make some right now."

As he dashed into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of popcorn, he thought about 2017. It might not have been the best year ever, he thought, but it sure was a good one. One of the best he could remember. New things, new people, new opportunities, and great memories, despite the bad events and moments.

Memories, he realized, were just like confetti. They rain upon you when something is about to come to an end or when something is about to begin.

* * *

Velvet scratched herself behind her ear.

The countdown had begun and she was sitting with her parents, watching the TV. Listening to the Jammers talk and laugh.

"Hey, Mom," she said suddenly. "How does the ball drop exactly?"

Timid Amusingscholar shrugged. "Maybe it appears to drop, but it actually just breaks," she said. "Seems logical, doesn't it?"

Velvet nodded. "That makes sense now."

She turned her attention back to the TV, showing many Jammers waving at the cameras that were moving all around the huge crowd.

* * *

Crashing went outside into the darkness, opening the mailbox. A single Jam-A-Gram with a present attached to it was inside. Taking it out, he read who it was from.

He realized it was from his father.

Shrugging, he read what the Jam-A-Gram said.

 _Hello there, Crashing and Fauna,_ it read. _I don't know if this is going to arrive on time, but if not, we're sorry. Happy Jamaalidays and happy new year. I wish we could be together, but we will soon. I know we will. Your mother and I have made a goal to meet you in 2018. Love, Mom and Dad._

Crashing smiled. He stuffed it back next to the present and walked back inside.

* * *

Medieval watched the time on the edge of the TV screen.

Two minutes left until 2018.

He smiled, watching his children run around the room. They seemed like they wanted 2018 to come, and he did too, but he didn't want to leave 2017 behind. It was too good of a year to just forget about. He also was cautious about loving a new year. It might be bad instead of good.

Sometimes, welcoming a new year was difficult.

Forest nudged him. "Come on, have some fun," she said, adjusting the party hat on her head. "Don't think about the cleaning up of this confetti later. Have fun, okay? That's what the new year is all about!"

Medieval laughed. He glanced at the timer. One minute - and now the Jammers were getting hyped up. "I know, I know," he said. "I guess I'll just miss 2017."

"I will too, but things have to go. Besides, 2018 might be better or worse. Live in the moment or you'll waste your life dwelling on the past."

Medieval paused. 45 seconds. 44. "You're right, I guess," he said. Then he laughed. "Why are you always right about everything?"

Forest laughed as well. "I don't know. Being a mother just makes me like that, I guess."

"How come being a father doesn't make me like that?"

"Cause girls are _way_ better," Forest joked.

Medieval swatted at her with his tail and laughed more. "Says who? Boys are great, if not _better_ , than girls!" 25 seconds left. 24 seconds. 23.

"What are you talkin' about, Dad?" Snickety said, pausing in his tracks. "Anyway, we'd better settle down and just watch the countdown. Only twenty seconds left, can you believe it?!"

Everyone cuddled on the couch, laughing. Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen.

"Goodbye, 2017," Rosy called to nobody. "I'll miss you!"

Ten. Nine. Eight. The Jammers were now counting down, shouted the numbers as loud as they could.

"Welcome, 2018," Prancing said.

Five. Four. Three.

"Yay!" cried Snickety.

Two. One.

At that moment, everything seemed to pause for a moment. Medieval took one last look at his family's den, knowing that 2017 was soon to be over. In just less than a second, it would all be done. 2018 would be the one here.

And then it happened.

"Happy new year!"

His family shrieked, as did all the Jammers on the TV screen. Confetti rained from the sky. Everyone was so happy - and he realized he should be, too. It was a new year, after all.

Suddenly, Forest huddled closer to him. "Medieval? Was 2017 a good year for you?"

Medieval didn't respond.

"Medieval?"

Medieval inhaled and nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "It was a pretty good year."

* * *

 **A/N:** This is the last chapter of Countdown to the Jamaalidays. I've really enjoyed writing this and it's really helped me to become a better writer. I may write future stories with the Cleverivy family, but currently, I'm planning an upcoming story and I will return to writing Night of Destruction.

Again, thank you all so much - Jammers, AJHQ, FanFiction, Animal Jam, Alvaro Soler, and just 2017 as a whole for such a wonderful year.

2017, you will be missed. 2018, you will be loved. Welcome.

~2023zhanl38


End file.
